The United Nations General Assembly continues in New York. On this occasion, many UN organizations are taking the opportunity to publish reports. One of them concerns in particular air conditioning and its future developments. A question that is far from anecdotal, because demand will explode as the effects of global warming are felt.
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Half a million people already die each year from heat. In this context, the United Nations praises the benefits of ” air conditioning ” but only if it is done well. 90% of American homes are equipped with air conditioners. In Africaonly 4 countries have an equipment rate higher than 10%.
However, there are several international initiatives to expand access to cold in general, on refrigerators, air conditioners, fans, and this report presented on the sidelines of the General Assembly of United Nations aims to show how to achieve this.
First of all, there are the projections. By 2050, the African market will be the most dynamic, multiplied by seven compared to today. This represents a hundred billion euros. But the challenge will be to know what this money will buy, because refrigeration technologies can be very energy-intensive and contribute to the global warming.
A paradox and a gear
Often located in already hot areas, developing countries are seeing their thermometers rise, but are also experiencing strong population and urbanization growth, as well as economic expansion that are supporting this demand. Their emissions from cooling systems accounted for two-thirds of the global total in 2022 and are expected to climb to 80% by 2050, the report notes.
The report takes the example of the many air conditioners and refrigerators found in African homes. Devices described as ” zombies “, second-hand, inefficient and energy-hungry.
The obligation to anticipate
The risk of generalization must be anticipated. This involves so-called passive solutions such as the insulation of buildings, the creation of green spaces in the city. This reduces the need. A need for costs that can then be satisfied by better equipment, certainly more expensive to acquire, but more efficient.
The authors of the report estimate that this would save consumers more than €5 trillion on their electricity bills worldwide by 2050, while reducing the harmful effects on the climate.
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