K-CEP work highlighted in Apolitical’s 100 Climate Policy Breakthrough list

Earlier this week, Apolitical released their 100 Climate Policy Breakthrough list, which showcases climate policies that have demonstrated the potential for scalability and effective change. The list aims to provide policymakers with an overview of how meaningful climate policy at the local, national, and global level can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The list is made up of policies implemented over the last few years and offer an example of “public service at its innovative and inspiring best.”

Of the 100 featured policies, nine focused specifically on cooling and four were projects from the K-CEP community. The policies covered a range of aspects of cooling, from passive cooling and behavior change campaigns, to finance programs and efficiency standards.

“It’s clear that we cannot solve the climate crisis without addressing cooling,” said K-CEP Executive Director, Jessica Brown. “K-CEP, our partners, and the wider climate action community are making great strides to ensure that efficient, climate-friendly cooling is realized as a major climate mitigation strategy.”

By transitioning to efficient, climate friendly cooling, not only can we improve the lives of millions of people, but we can also cut global warming and secure huge financial savings.

We’re proud to see the work of K-CEP partners being recognized in Apolitical’s 100 Climate Policy Breakthrough list:

Million Cool Roofs Challenge

The Million Cool Roofs Challenge is a global initiative aiming to accelerate access to affordable, sustainable cooling through rapid deployment of cool roof materials. The challenge is a collaborative effort from K-CEP, the Global Cool Cities Alliance, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Nesta Challenges.

The project has given $100,000 grants to ten teams to deploy cool roofs in their country. An addition $750,000 will be awarded to the team that has demonstrated the best sustainable and transferable model for rapid deployment of cool roofs.

Rwanda’s ‘Coolease’ Scheme

Rwanda’s ‘Coolease’ finance program, one of the first of its kind in Africa, will enable suppliers and consumers of air conditioning and refrigeration products to transition to the latest technology without the high upfront investment.

Funded by K-CEP in conjunction with UNEP and BASE, Coolease embraces the concept of ‘cooling as a service’ (CaaS), in which consumers effectively rent cooling appliances from technology providers. The providers are responsible for installation and maintenance of the equipment, which they can remove if the lessee defaults on payments. The policy transfers responsibility for efficient systems to the provider, making it easier and cheaper to replace old models. It also combats the challenge of high initial costs, making it easier for consumers to choose more climate-friendly option, in turn reducing the cooling sector’s greenhouse gas emissions and increasing access to efficient, climate-friendly cooling.

Efficient Cooling Standards in Kenya

The Kenyan government is working with K-CEP and CLASP to enact strong minimum performance requirements for refrigeration and air conditioning products to try and mitigate their climate damaging effects as the market grows over the next decade.

In April 2019, the performance standards came into effect, requiring an improved efficiency level of at least 11% and a regulation of ozone-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The new standards are expected to eliminate 73% of the least efficient air conditioner models from the market. The regulations are already showing a strong positive effect on the import market.

Nature-Based Cooling in Medellín

Medellín’s ‘Green Corridor’ project targets air pollution, the urban heat island effect, and public transport with one solution: nature. The increase of green space has benefited the local economy through training and job creation, and public health outcomes from reduced air pollution and improved mental health. The city has seen temperatures fall by 2-3°C, ensuring significant energy reductions from reduced artificial cooling. So far, they’ve planted over 8,300 trees and 350,000 shrubs.

The other cooling policies include:

  • The Global Cooling Prize: The Global Cooling Prize has the goal to find a cooling solution that will mitigate 0.5°C of global warming by 2100.
  • NYC’s CoolRoofs Program: The NYC CoolRoofs program has coated over 10 million square feet of rooftop with reflective coating, reducing cooling costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and the urban heat island effect.
  • Sydney’s Road to a Cooler City: Sydney is combatting the urban island heat effect by focusing on cooling its streets. The lighter road surfaces have the potential to decrease surface temperatures by as much as 14°C.
  • The CoolBiz Campaign: The CoolBiz campaign is reported to save between 1 and 3 million tons of CO2 every summer in Japan by encouraging small changes in behavior to reduce the need for mechanical cooling.
  • Delaware’s Cool Switch: Delaware’s proposed ‘Cool Switch’ policy incentivizes non-residential consumers to switch to low-impact methods of refrigeration.

 

 

Image source: Ashden

Reducing food loss and increasing farmers’ income: Supporting efficient, climate-friendly agricultural cold chain in India.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with support from K-CEP, is announcing a new initiative that will mobilize $50 million for efficient, climate-friendly agricultural cold chain in India. This work will be conducted in partnership with the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).

Food loss in India

In India, rising temperatures and extreme heat pose a significant threat to food and nutrition security, as well as public health in general, highlighting the importance of access to cooling for all.  The risk of food and nutrition insecurity is further exacerbated by a shortage of reliable and unbroken cold-chain infrastructure (e.g., cold room storage, refrigerated transport, etc.) across the country.

According to a 2012-2014 study by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), up to 6% of cereals, 6.1% of pulses, 10.1% of oilseeds, 18.1% of fruits, and 13% of vegetables were lost during harvest, post-harvest activities, handling, and storage. Overall, it is estimated that post-harvest losses in India total around $12.4 billion each year.

Not only do these losses negatively impact farmers’ incomes and food security, but they also result in a waste of many natural resources, such as soil quality and water, and contribute a significant amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Agricultural cold chain in India

By investing in the development of agricultural cold chains, UNEP, AEEE, and EESL aim to reduce food loss, ensure greater nutrition and food security, and improve farmers’ income and rural livelihoods in India. All of which are key development priorities of the Indian government.

While the expansion of cold chains will reduce food loss and its associated GHG emissions, conventional cold chain infrastructure consumes huge amounts of energy, uses climate-polluting refrigerants, and relies on fossil-fuel intensive vehicles for transportation. This expansion is crucial for India’s development and to reduce food loss, but it is paramount that efforts ensure cold chain expansion prioritizes sustainable energy and refrigerants and delivers resilience and economic benefits for farmers and other food producers.

UNEP, AEEE, and EESL will work in India’s rural and peri-urban areas to mainstream efficient cold chain infrastructure that uses renewable energy supplies and refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP). In addition to piloting innovative and replicable technologies and participatory business models that maximize value for farmers, the project will also work on enhancing policy and support programs and creating economic activities and new job opportunities in rural India.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the upcoming roll-out of a vaccine, significant work on medical cold chains is already underway in India. While this project will focus predominantly on the agricultural cold chain, yielding both climate and development benefits, there is strong potential to integrate medical cold chain, particularly during the next few years. As such the project will explore the potential for rural stores, packhouses, and transportation to play a role for both vaccine and produce.

The project will kick-off in early 2021 and will run until early 2024.

New Report: Efficient cooling in EVs can extend driving range, reduce operating costs, and cut emissions.

Cooling: Transporting us to Net Zero

How efficient, climate-friendly cooling can support the transport sector’s transition to net zero emissions.

In 2018, the IPCC announced that to limit global warming to 1.5°C, global CO2 emissions would need to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, and reach ‘net zero’ by around 2050. In practice, this would require all sectors to shift away from fossil fuels while also removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

For the transport sector, most emissions reductions will likely come from on-road passenger transport, which is easier to decarbonize than aircraft and freight ships. If the electricity that charges an electric vehicle (EV) is generated from renewables, driving a fully electric vehicle would produce no emissions post-manufacturing. But concerns over cost, range, and charging infrastructure are preventing mass uptake by consumers. At the core of the problem lies the vehicle’s battery and its range.

According to a new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) – Cooling: Transporting us to Net Zero – more efficient cooling can extend the driving range of electric cars and trucks by 38% and reduce operating costs by 28%. It is estimated that these cost savings could drive a 7% uptick in EV sales. The research also points out that further improvements can be realized with the use of passive cooling measures such as smarter design and insulation.

In China, efficient cooling in EVs has the potential to cut emissions by 58MtCO2 over the next decade. Of the emissions that could be avoided in China, 72% would have been from coal-fired generation, 22% from oil, and 5% from gas.

“The transition to EVs can offer consumers an intelligent, stylish, and climate-friendly driving experience, but it also needs to be comfortable and convenient,” says K-CEP Non-Executive Director, Dan Hamza-Goodacre. “This EIU report shines a light, for the first time, on the role that efficient cooling can play in extending EV range and reducing costs while keeping passengers and cargo cool. The climate also wins. I hope the automotive industry can act on the findings, and that MPG and range testing regimes can improve to include and be transparent about ancillary energy uses such as cooling. Consumers and the climate will benefit even more if so.”

While efficient cooling alone cannot meet the transport industry’s zero-emissions targets, it will be a critical component of the path to net zero. In addition to quantifying the benefits of efficient cooling in EVs, the report outlines priority actions required to ensure that the contribution of efficient cooling to increasing EV uptake and speeding up the race to net zero can be realized.

The full report is available here.

Accelerate Magazine: Three Predictors for Cooling in 2021.

Three predictions for Cooling in 2021

Expect more of the following: net-zero emissions action by cooling companies, Kigali Ratification and ambition, and National Cooling Action Plans by governments. 

The challenges of 2020 have been well documented and I don’t think I have ever looked forward to a new year more than now. 

On top of everything Covid-19 related, 2020 saw a number of heat records broken around the world, more relentless heat waves (including in the Arctic Circle), and another ominously high temperature of 54.4°C (129.9°F) in Death Valley, California (U.S.). It is, therefore, unsurprising to learn that 2020 is on course to be the hottest year since records began. While 2020 is likely to be an anomaly in many ways, with regards to the rising mercury, it is not. 

With this trend of increasingly frequent and lengthy heat waves being experienced in virtually every part of the world, we are seeing a growing demand for cooling, especially for the most vulnerable communities. The loss of lives and productivity due to heat is already too high, and is only expected to grow if we don’t act now. 

It’s not just keeping ourselves cool that’s becoming increasingly important; the refrigeration of medicines – vaccines in particular – has been of significant interest this year. The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a light on socioeconomic inequities, and as we approach the final stages of vaccine development, certain communities face the possibility of further inequalities relating to access to sufficient cold-chain infrastructure for vaccine distribution. 

As I write this, there are at least three promising candidates for a Covid-19 vaccine: one from Pfizer and BioNtech, one from Moderna, and one from Oxford University and AstraZeneca. While this is all clearly fantastic news, we’re not out of the woods just yet. According to Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL)’s recent “Chilling Prospects” report, delivering a vaccine typically requires storage at temperatures between 2°C and 8°C (35.6°F and 46.4°F). To do this for 4.7-5.5 billion people within 12-18 months would require a massive expansion in medical cold chains, energy, and refrigerants. You can just imagine the scale of the challenge if a vaccine requires relatively constant temperatures of -20°C (-4°F) or -70°C (-94°F), Moderna’s and Pfizer/BioNtech’s respectively. Oxford/AstaZeneca’s vaccine suddenly looks more attractive, at least from a distribution and certainly from a climate perspective. 

While significant attention is rightly focused on these immediate challenges, much of life goes on as normal, so let’s dedicate some energy to different, but related matters – the cooling of vaccines yes, but cooling in the context of the climate crisis. What can we expect from 2021 and what can we hope for? It is now time to pick up the pace. Here are my top-three predictions for 2021. 

The cooling sector will feel the heat from the “Race to Zero”

Over 80 countries and more than 2,000 businesses, investors, cities, and universities have already committed to the United Nations’ Race to Zero carbon emissions campaign. In the run-up to next November’s 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, we will see numerous additional net-zero emissions pledges being made from both the private and public sectors. Over the last year, the number of commitments has doubled. Very few, however, are from cooling sector manufacturers, but some clear leaders have emerged – Danfoss, Electrolux, and Schneider Electric. 

One major milestone for 2021 will be a net-zero commitment from U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. He has been vocal about his plans to act on climate, including rejoining the Paris Agreement, pledging net-zero emissions by 2050, and pushing to “dramatically increase global climate ambition.” Greater action from the incoming administration will encourage domestic action; as the world’s second largest source of energy-related emissions from stationary air conditioning, the U.S. has a major role to play. 

The U.S. is also home to some of the world’s largest cooling manufacturers – Trane Technologies, Carrier, Johnson Controls, and Lennox International. If the U.S. makes significant commitments in the form of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris accord and a net-zero pledge, these companies will fall into line.

U.S. action will also spur action across the world from businesses (competitors and franchises) as well as governments. Cooling will feature increasingly in countries’ NDCs and in their long-term plans (e.g. for 2050). And action on cooling will go way beyond the cooling industry. From healthcare and agriculture, to transportation and buildings, the environmental performance of cooling impacts many sectors’ pathways to zero carbon emissions – we won’t get to net-zero without concerted action on cooling. 

The Kigali Amendment will see more ratifications – and greater ambition

Since coming into force in January 2019, 111 countries and the European Union have ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which aims to reduce HFC consumption by at least 80% by 2047. These ratifications represent around 57% of the 197 parties (plus the EU) that enacted the amendment. According to UN estimates, the full implementation of the Kigali Amendment would avoid up to 0.4°C (0.72°F) in global warming by 2100. Of the remaining 86 parties, two of the world’s largest consumers of HFCs (the U.S. and China) have yet to ratify the amendment. The former is likely to rectify this in early 2021 (pending Senate approval) following President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration in January. 

There is increasing recognition that the Kigali Amendment is necessary for effective climate action, so we will likely see an uptake in ratifications in 2021. And while clear progress is being made here, there is skepticism as to whether Kigali targets go far enough and fast enough. As more countries and companies join the Race to Zero campaign, they will begin to move above and beyond the Kigali Amendment with regards to the production and consumption of HFCs in order to meet their net-zero targets. This shift will drive a greater demand for natural refrigerants (such as ammonia, CO2, and hydrocarbons) and require synthetic refrigerants to have a much lower GWP, i.e. under five. Net-zero will force a more ambitious adjustment of the Kigali Amendment

More National Cooling Action Plans will be enacted at national and subnational levels

Throughout 2021, rising temperatures, Covid-19 vaccine cooling needs, the looming climate negotiations, and awareness of the key role that cooling plays for food and productivity will put cooling higher up the political agenda and encourage better planning to meet cooling needs in a climate-friendly way. Much planning will happen through the development of National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs) at both the national and subnational levels. 

Back in 2018, India became the first country to develop such a plan. Since then, China, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, and Panama have published NCAPs, and 21 other countries are in progress, all with the support of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP). 

National action is being complemented by action at the subnational level, such as in Ahmedabad, India; its Heat Action Plan has saved thousands of lives and inspired similar action in 30 cities across the country. If countries and sub-national entities fail to plan, they are planning to fail. 

All in all, there are reasons for hope in 2021. Much-needed climate action will spur much needed economic activity and jobs. A renewed U.S. government, the Race to Zero, and the clear economic benefits of climate action will underpin an ambitious COP26 and help get us back on the necessary pathway to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C (2.7°F). 

I think 2021 will be another tough year, but it will also be a year of increased ambition, action, and progress; it simply has to be. As Karl Popper said, “Optimism is a duty. The future is open.”

This article was written by Dan Hamza-Goodacre (Non-Executive Director, K-CEP) and was originally published in Accelerate Magazine.

K-CEP supports 10 countries to enhance NDCs with new work on efficient, climate-friendly cooling.

December 10, 2020 – We are excited to announce the ten recipients of funding from our NDC Support Facility for Efficient, Climate-friendly Cooling (NDC Support Facility). The announcement was made earlier today at an online event co-hosted by the COP26 High-Level Champions, the UK Government, and the UN Environment Programme’s Cool Coalition.

The countries – Jordan, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Pakistan, Morocco, Chile, and Tunisia – will all receive funding, via technical assistance providers, to improve the access to and/or efficiency of cooling in their respective countries.

NDC Support Facility

Launched in January 2020, the NDC Support Facility provides funding and guidance to organizations to support governments wanting to integrate energy-efficient and climate-friendly cooling solutions into the next round of their country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Updated every five years, NDCs form the foundation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and embody each country’s efforts to reduce national emission levels.

After committing to include efficient, climate-friendly cooling solutions in their enhanced NDCs (or in the case of Chile, its long-term climate plan), K-CEP decided to support such leadership with grants from the NDC Support Facility.

“It’s a triple win,” says K-CEP Executive Director, Jessica Brown. “By implementing efficient, climate-friendly cooling, governments can cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve the lives of their citizens, and realize huge financial savings. Not only can it help in the fight against climate change by helping countries meet Paris Agreement and Kigali Amendment targets, but getting cooling right can also make a significant contribution to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals.”

The work will cover multiple aspects of the cooling sector, including sustainable cold chains, passive cooling solutions, urban cooling, energy-efficient cooling for social housing, and energy-efficient commercial refrigeration.

Pathway to Zero

This  enhanced commitment to efficient, climate-friendly cooling comes alongside the release of the Climate Action Pathway for Net Zero Cooling, which lays out the vision for action to 2050. The pathway, authored by the Carbon Trust, the Cool Coalition, K-CEP, Oxford University, and the COP26 High-Level Champions, details the key cooling milestones that will be necessary to fully implement the Paris Agreement, exceed the Kigali Amendment, and contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

New Report: Efficient cooling solutions could save $3.5 trillion in power generation costs & drive an emissions reduction of 7.6 GtCO2.

According to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), implementing more efficient cooling solutions could save $3.5 trillion in power generation costs over the next ten years, and drive an emissions reduction of 7.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide (GtCO2).

Launched today, The Power of Efficient Cooling looks at how efficient, climate-friendly cooling can support the power sector’s transition to net zero emissions. The report, which was commissioned by K-CEP, estimates that without sustainable cooling solutions, countries aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2050 are likely to miss those targets by up to eight years.

Over the next decade, meeting the energy demand for cooling is projected to cost $4.6 trillion and contribute 10.1 GtCO2. Even with a shift to renewables, the financial and environmental costs will remain high – $4.5 trillion and 9.2 GtCO2, respectively.

“When delivering energy services like cooling to people and business, there is a tendency to think about expanding energy supply,” says K-CEP Non-Executive Director, Dan Hamza-Goodacre, “but we urgently need to look through the other end of the telescope and think about demand management.”

Savings Potential

The EIU’s research finds that focusing on energy demand and ensuring that cooling is more efficient could substantially reduce the financial and environmental costs of the power sector. By installing more efficient air conditioning equipment, we could save $0.9 trillion and 2 GtCO2 by 2030. Of the mitigated emissions, 73% would have come from coal, 23% from gas, and 3% oil.

If we were to reduce the overall need for air conditioning – with passive cooling measures or nature-based solutions, for example – we could increase these savings to $3.5 trillion and 7.6 GtCO2 over the same period. In this scenario, 67% of the mitigated emissions would have come from coal, 29% from gas, and 3% from oil.

According to Diana Hindle Fisher at the EIU: “Understanding the financial and environmental costs of different solutions to meeting growing cooling demand is critical to encouraging stakeholders to take action.”

Efficient cooling can expedite the transition to net zero at a lower cost, as well as providing benefits for all stakeholders, including governments, consumers, and the power sector itself, given the right incentives.

Download ‘The Power of Efficient Cooling’ here.

ECOFRIDGES Green ‘On-Wage’ launched in Ghana to make environmentally friendly cooling products more affordable.

Environmentally friendly refrigerators and air conditioners will be more widely accessible and affordable in Ghana through a new Green On-wage financing scheme – ECOFRIDGES GO. 

The ECOWAS Refrigerators and Air Conditioners Initiative (ECOFRIDGES) is a joint project by the Governments of Ghana and Senegal, the United Nations Environment Programme’s United for Efficiency (UNEP U4E) initiative, and the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE). In collaboration with regional and local partners, ECOFRIDGES aims to accelerate adoption of energy-efficient and climate-friendly domestic refrigerators and room air conditioners, saving consumers money on their electricity bills, relieving demand on the power sector, and mitigating impacts on the environment. A cornerstone of ECOFRIDGES activities in Ghana is a Green On-Wage (GO) financial mechanism that will help make these cooling products more affordable.

By 2023, through ECOFRIDGES GO, local financial institutions aim to unlock at least US$11 million in financing in Ghana to support the purchase of over 15,000 more sustainable cooling appliances and entice the replacement of old existing equipment. The project includes the proper collection and disposal of used appliances, product testing, policy considerations, capacity building, and promotion and awareness campaigns. It sets strict energy performance requirements and limits on the refrigerants of participating products to keep a lid on greenhouse gas emissions.

Kofi Agyarko, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency Director of the Energy Commission, noted, “This programme positions Ghana as an African leader in advancing sustainable development, helping assure a better quality of life for our people while advancing the climate goals of the Paris Agreement and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.”

The project team is delighted to announce the launch of ECOFRIDGES GO following an in-depth market assessment and numerous consultations with stakeholders. Eligible salaried employees can access a 0% interest loan that is “on-wage” in that the repayment is deducted from their paycheck each month during the repayment period. The loan finances the purchase of a qualifying refrigerator or air-conditioner. Partner banks offering the loans include CalBank Plc, Ecobank Ghana Limited, Letshego Ghana Savings, and Loans Plc.

Participating vendors include Ederick Limited, Electroland Ghana Limited, Hisense, Nesstra Ghana Limited, and Services Merchandize Limited. The vendors will deliver the new appliance to the customer. They also facilitate the collection and recycling of used, operational products from participating customers who wish to exchange one in return for a voucher valid for future use at the store.

Brian Holuj, ECOFRIDGES Project Manager at U4E indicated that “ECOFRIDGES GO is a game changer for consumers, businesses, and the planet. It addresses the key hurdle to making sustainable cooling competitive with average products that may be inexpensive to buy but waste a lot of energy and cost much more to operate.”

According to Daniel Magallon, CEO of BASE, “Innovative financing instruments such as ECOFRIDGES GO have the potential to disrupt the market and facilitate households’ access to affordable, efficient refrigerators and AC systems and benefiting from the low energy consumption and low electricity bills. This initiative is an important coalition between the government, leading financial institutions and energy-efficient cooling technology providers, combining efforts for a more sustainable Ghana.”

Shilpa Patel, K-CEP’s Mission Investing Director, added: “We are very pleased to support ECOFRIDGES GO for climate-friendly cooling, and delighted it is coming to fruition in Ghana. Ghana’s example will inspire others and help the international community in our collective responsibilities to the Paris Agreement, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Efficient products make cooling more accessible, and in turn, keep more indoor spaces comfortable and food fresh and nutritious, helping to cope with the consequences and restrictions of Covid-19.

ECOFRIDGES is made possible by funding from K-CEP and in-kind contributions from Ghana’s Energy Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and project partners.

Read more about this project on the websites of the Energy Commission, U4E and  BASE. And follow ECOFRIDGES GO on Twitter.

Energy Transition: Stay cool and get to zero – Energy Efficiency Magazine

It’s hard to ignore the fact that the world is getting warmer. The last five-year period has been the warmest five years on record, so if we’re to achieve the Paris Agreement target of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C, then all countries, industries, and organizations must urgently work toward zero greenhouse gas emissions. To do this, we cannot ignore the cooling sector. 

Refrigeration and air conditioning (AC) are estimated to be responsible for around 7-10% of global CO2 emissions – three times more than aviation and shipping combined – yet are often overlooked. This blindspot is a double-edged sword: not only does mechanized cooling use super-polluting F-gases, which can be up to 12,000 times more harmful than CO2, it also consumes huge – and often inefficient – amounts of energy. In India, for example, we expect there to be an additional 112 million AC units by 2030, which could use 150 gigawatts of energy, the equivalent to 300 new power plants. 

Despite these problems, global access to cooling is vital for human health and prosperity, particularly in a warming world. Cooling helps to keep food fresh all along the ‘cold chains’ that supply our nutritional needs, keeps temperature-sensitive vaccines and medicines viable, and maintains human comfort in buildings. 

Getting to zero emissions for cooling will require a multipronged approach that transforms how cooling is generated and used. This approach consists of four key steps: reduce, shift, improve, and protect. 

Firstly, to reduce cooling emissions we need to reduce the need for mechanized cooling. By adopting a combination of passive cooling techniques and nature-based solutions, buildings and cities will become cooler, reducing the need for air conditioning and thus emissions. Sustainable design techniques like reflective materials and green spaces are proven to reduce internal and external temperatures, but require better policies, building codes, and financial incentives. Reducing cooling emissions will also require changes in behavior, including not ‘overcooling’ buildings and adjusting activity levels during the hottest parts of the day. 

Secondly, we need to shift away from polluting forms of cooling and toward technologies that emit fewer GHGs, both in terms of direct (refrigerants) and indirect (energy) emissions. In regard to refrigerants, cutting the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in cooling has the potential to avoid up to 0.5°C of global warming by the end of the century. We also need to adopt better practices when it comes to equipment disposal; around 90% of refrigerant emissions occur when refrigerators and ACs are disposed of due to dumping or damage. 

To cut indirect emissions, we must focus on transitioning to low- or zero-carbon energy sources. If global cooling use increases to the expected 5.6 billion AC units by 2050, that alone will require the combined current electricity capacity of the US, EU, and Japan. While renewable energy is crucial to reducing GHG emissions while meeting this growth, it’s unfortunately not that simple. Not all renewable sources are compatible with the nuances of cooling, such as meeting night demand or sustaining the constant temperatures needed for refrigeration. 

For these reasons, innovation in energy storage, including thermal energy storage, will be critical. District cooling and evaporative cooling can also be greatly scaled up. 

Thirdly, we must urgently improve the efficiency of cooling appliances, which, if done correctly, could save nearly $3 trillion in energy costs by 2050. Improvements in cooling efficiency are expected to double the climate benefits of phasing out HFCs, leading to 1°C of warming avoided by the end of the century. Increased efficiency can be a rapid solution, but we must move beyond incremental improvement in technology and commit to making significant changes. 

The final piece of the puzzle is to ensure that we protect those who are most vulnerable to a lack of access to cooling. Cooling is not a luxury, and global access is vital for the realization of several UN Sustainable Development Goals. We cannot simply limit cooling’s climate impact by limiting global access. 

Developing a pathway to zero emissions for cooling is complicated but necessary. By adopting better building design and urban planning, moving away from polluting refrigerants and energy sources, and increasing the energy efficiency of cooling technology, we could drastically reduce the negative impacts of the cooling sector. No single component will get us to zero. 

As you read this, a consortium of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP), the Carbon Trust, the UN Cool Coalition, and Oxford University is developing a pathway to zero for the cooling sector as part of the COP26 Champions and Marrakesh Partnership’s ‘Climate Action Pathways’ campaign. More information will be released later this year. In the meantime, stay cool (sustainably!). 

This article was written by Dan Hamza-Goodacre (Non-Executive Director, K-CEP) and was originally published in Energy Efficiency Magazine.

How philanthropy can bend the cold chains emissions curve’ and unlock prosperity.

A new report, Net Zero Cold Chains for Food – A discussion document on the case for philanthropic action, released today, outlines the challenge of reducing emissions from rapidly growing food cold chains and how philanthropy can help ‘bend the curve’ whilst enhancing food security and poverty reduction through net zero food cold chains.

Delivering affordable, nutritious, and safe food that provides good financial returns for producers while minimising the environmental and climate change impacts is challenging. Cold chains play a vital role in helping the food system deliver against many of these challenges, but conventional operations based on refrigerants with high global warming potential (GWP) and equipment that inefficiently uses energy can have significant environmental impacts.

To avoid locking-in to high carbon, energy inefficient infrastructure, action is needed to develop net zero cold chains that reduce food waste and avoid emissions from high GWP refrigerants and inefficient equipment. This will require a system transition with action across many stakeholder groups to create low carbon infrastructure, access to reliable, clean energy, and appropriate operating procedures, as well as supportive policy, regulation, and commercial incentives.

The food cold chain alone is responsible for one third of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions, or 1% of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHG emissions are already significant in developed countries with food refrigeration contributing 2-4% of total GHG emissions in the UK. As new cold chain infrastructure comes online on low- and mid-income economies, these emissions are projected to rise significantly. For example, GHG emissions from cold chains in India are set to double by 2027 without active intervention.

Dan Hamza-Goodacre, Non-Executive Director, K-CEP commented:

“Net zero compatible cold chain solutions have the potential to ’bend the curve’ on GHG emissions in countries that already have significant cold chain infrastructure, but critically they will help to avoid significant increases in GHG emissions in countries where cold chain deployment is expected to grow. This presents an enormous opportunity for philanthropy to play a catalytic ‘systems integrator’ role in this complex sector, to reduce GHG emissions whilst delivering on critical areas including food security and poverty reduction.”

David Aitken, Director, Innovation at the Carbon Trust added: 

“Acting now to transition to net zero cold chains can unlock significant climate, food security and development benefits but will require a change from conventional solutions. Philanthropy can play a key role in catalysing this shift at scale and speed to net zero cold chains to ensure we protect the climate, deliver safe nutritious food to consumers and improve farmer livelihoods”.

The report is authored by the Carbon Trust with input from a range of leading experts and stakeholders and was commissioned by K-CEP. It summarises the case for philanthropic intervention and provides guidance on the practical actions that can be taken.

The full brief can be downloaded here.

NDC Support Facility | Update

As always, but particularly during such trying and uncertain times, we at K-CEP hope that you and your organization remain safe, healthy, and intact.

We released an update back in April regarding the extension of our NDC Support Facility for Efficient, Climate-Friendly Cooling as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent delay to COP26.

At the end of last month, it was announced that COP26 has been rescheduled to convene November 1-12, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. As such, we are happy to be able to share with you the details of the revised timeline and process for K-CEP’s NDC Support Facility:

Round One | 2020

As mentioned in our previous update, we are proceeding under the assumption that countries are still required to submit their enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by year-end 2020. With this in mind, proposals for NDC Support Facility funding are due by 11:59pm EDT on September 4, 2020. Successful applicants will then be announced in mid-November 2020, with funding being contingent on the submission of an enhanced NDC (or another official public document) that details new cooling ambitions.

Round Two | 2021

Due to the possibility that some countries may face ongoing disruption as Covid-19 continues to spread around the world, their NDC submission may be delayed until 2021. Because of this, a second round of applications for 2021 may be announced before the end of 2020 to encourage and support increased ambition.

Round-two funding is contingent on the quality of applications submitted and the amount of funds distributed in round one. We will continue to fundraise to increase the pool of funds available for the second round, but we reserve the right to allocate all funds during the first round in 2020 if the initial proposals are ambitious and of a high quality.

It is also worth highlighting that if we receive a large number of high-quality proposals in round one, such that the existing funding (up to US$ 12 million) is not enough, we will use this as an opportunity to raise more funds.

Updated Scoring Criteria

We have also taken this opportunity to update the Facility’s scoring criteria to better reflect the different types of proposals that we expect to receive, with slight changes being made to the ‘Impact’ criterion. A detailed overview of the revised scoring can be found in the Facility’s RFP.

We want to once again, thank those who have taken the time to prepare their proposals, and to encourage interested parties to please apply. Despite the delay to COP26, there has been no delay to the climate crisis. It is paramount for parties to accelerate their climate ambition and we want to highlight that enhanced commitment to efficient, climate-friendly cooling is a significant climate mitigation strategy.

If you have any questions regarding the NDC Support Facility, please email coolingfacility@ceaconsulting.com.

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