Page 50 - Climate Control News Magazine May 2019
P. 50

Temperature Gauge
Clean and cool global coalition
ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UN ENVIRONMENT, JOYCE MSUYA, OUTLINES THE ROLE OF THE NEWLY FORMED COOL COALITION.
This is equivalent to emissions of 12 Gt- CO2e in 2050 - equivalent to almost one
quarter of global emissions in 2017.
Many cooling technologies use re- frigerants that can be 10,000 times more potent greenhouse gases than
carbon dioxide.
On the first day of 2019, the
Kigali Amendment to the Mon- treal Protocol started phasing down these gases, known as hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs).
This amendment
can deliver almost 0.4°C of avoided warming from addressing
these gases alone.
A combined strategy to phase down HFCs
along with improvements in energy efficiency can potentially double the climate benefits - while saving up to $US2.9 trillion globally through 2050 by using less electricity, according to figures from the International Energy Agency.
The Cool Coalition is a unified front that links action across the Kigali Amendment, Paris Agreement and Sustainable Develop- ment Goals.
“THE NUMBER OF AIR CONDITIONERS IN USE IS EXPECTED TO RISE FROM 1.2 BILLION TODAY TO 4.5 BILLION BY 2050.”
It will inspire ambition, identify solutions and mobilize action to accelerate progress toward clean and efficient cooling. The Cool Coalition will complement and build upon ongoing suc- cessful programs to advance clean and efficient cooling, including, the Cooling for All Secretari- at, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the Ki- gali Cooling Efficiency Programme, private sec- tor action like the Global Cooling Prize, and other initiatives. ✺
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
UN Environment acting executive director, Joyce Msuya
AS GLOBAL TEMPERATURES rise and the growing energy demands of air conditioning threaten to emit more greenhouse gases, over 20 leaders have committed to a new global effort on clean and efficient cooling.
Known as the Cool Coalition, it can make a huge positive impact on climate change, help achieve sustainable development and save money.
Launched at the First Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement, the Cool Coalition aims to inspire ambition and accelerate action on the transition to clean and efficient cooling.
The coalition includes ministers of environ- ment from Chile and Rwanda and Foreign Af- fairs from Denmark as well as the heads of Dan- ish engineering firm Danfoss and ENGIE, and the leaders of civil society, research, academia and intergovernmental institutions.
The Cool Coalition is a global effort led by UN Environment, the Climate and Clean Air Coali- tion, the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program, and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).
Demand for cooling is growing, as it must if we are to provide equitable access to a technology that keeps our children healthy, vaccines stable, food nutritious and economies productive.
But we also cannot allow emissions to get out of hand. The Cool Coalition offers a three-in-one
opportunity to cut global warming, improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people and make huge financial savings.
2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record, with unprecedented peak temperatures record- ed across the planet, from 43°C in Baku, Azerbai- jan, to the low 30s across Scandinavia.
Already, 30 per cent of the world's population face potentially dangerous temperatures for more than 20 days a year. Heatwaves cause 12,000 deaths annually.
In a warming world, cooling is a necessity, not a luxury.
This necessity is something that can be deliv- ered within a 1.5 degree-pathway. We need to provide sustainable cooling at speed and scale so that we can ensure everyone has safe food, safe vaccines, and comfort at work. Hundreds of millions of people at risk today from extreme heat need protection and we must protect them in a way that also protects the planet from in- creased carbon emissions.
Amidst rising temperatures and spending power, the number of air conditioners in use is expected to rise from 1.2 billion today to 4.5 bil- lion by 2050.
If the world continues down this path, emis- sions from the sector will grow 90% by 2050 over 2017 levels.
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