• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
UAE Briefing Targets Canada for LNG Deals During COP28 Climate Discussions November 28, 2023
Ottawa Pivots to Subsidize CCUS Projects that Use Captured CO2 to Extract More Oil November 28, 2023
Canada Commits $7B to Carbon Contracts For Difference November 28, 2023
‘LIKE THE TITANIC’: Climate Risk Estimates Shipwrecked by Neglect of Science November 28, 2023
Alberta Fossils Undercount Methane by 50% as Ottawa Touts New Rules November 28, 2023
Next
Prev

Warming planet faces cooling crisis

May 15, 2018
Reading time: 3 minutes
Primary Author: Alex Kirby

As climate change warms the Earth, one significant concern is the cooling crisis, the quest for energy-hungry artificial ways to keep ourselves cool.

LONDON, 15 May, 2018 – One of the ironies of increasing climate change is the cooling crisis: the hotter the planet becomes, the greater our demand for ways to cool down. And most often, in rich countries, that means switching on the air conditioning, which in turn means using more electricity and emitting more fossil fuels to escape the heat we’ve emitted by burning so much already.

  • Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
  • Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
  • The Weekender: The climate news you need.
Subscribe

Just how serious that irony is in practice is clear from a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the future of cooling. The Agency’s executive director, Fatih Birol, sums up the problem in his foreword: “The world faces a looming ‘cold crunch.’

“Using air conditioners and electric fans to stay cool accounts for nearly 20% of the total electricity used in buildings around the world today. And this trend is set to grow as the world’s economic and demographic growth becomes more focused in hotter countries.”

Since 1990, the report says, global sales of electrically-powered fans and air-conditioning systems (ACs) have more than tripled. More than half of them are used in just two countries – China and the United States. Over a year the 1.6bn ACs in use worldwide consume more than 2,000 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity – 2.5 times more than Africa’s total annual electricity consumption.

Carbon dioxide emissions from cooling have also tripled since 1990, to 1,130m tonnes, causing corresponding growth in local air pollution. And the growing demand for cooling is moving south, driven by economic and population growth in the hottest parts of the world.

Very limited effect

Most of the projected growth by 2050 in energy use for cooling is expected to come from the emerging economies, half of it from three countries – India, China and Indonesia.

The IEA says its analysis shows that governments’ policies to address current and future electricity consumption so as to meet cooling demand would have only “a very limited effect” in slowing it. Its baseline scenario sees the energy needed tripling by 2050 to 6,200 TWh, with meeting peak electricity demand a major challenge, because of the need for extra generation and distribution equipment.

But the baseline scenario is not the only option, the IEA says. Its alternative vision is what it calls an efficient cooling scenario which greatly strengthens policies for limiting the energy needed for cooling, and which it says “is compatible with the ambitious goals to limit climate change that were agreed in the Paris Agreement”.

The key word here is “efficient”. This scenario focuses on achieving massive improvements in the efficiency of AC equipment, accompanied by other measures like tougher minimum energy performance standards, and clear labelling to guide consumers.

If governments altered their policies in this way, the report says, the present average energy efficiency of ACs worldwide could more than double in the next 30 years.

“Using air conditioners and electric fans to stay cool accounts for nearly 20% of the total electricity used in buildings around the world today. And this trend is set to grow”

Energy demand for cooling would by 2050 be 45% lower than in the baseline scenario, saving an amount equivalent to all the electricity consumed by the European Union in 2016. And between 2017 and 2050 the efficiency strategy would cost US$2.9 trillion less than the baseline scenario, meaning lower electricity costs for everyone.

Carbon dioxide emissions would, with the decarbonisation of power generation, fall to 13% of their 2016 level, and key air pollutant emissions would fall by up to 85%.

The report says there is potential for even bigger energy savings through changing the way buildings are designed and constructed, and in what materials are used. The idea is not new: across the Middle East there is a long tradition of constructing buildings that incorporate windcatchers, which use natural airflows to ventilate them and have even been used for refrigeration. And just painting buildings white so that they reflect sunlight can help.

The principle of passive building design, which uses natural sources, including wind, solar energy and daylight to cut the amount of energy buildings consume, is being updated and extended and, even in countries as hot as India, is providing useful lessons. – Climate News Network



in Climate News Network

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Ben Wall/Wikimedia Commons
Ice Loss & Sea Level Rise

Most Glaciers Would Be Lost at 2.0°C, Scientists Warn

November 20, 2023
64
moerschy / Pixabay
Biodiversity & Habitat

Planetary Weight Study Shows Humans Taking Most of Earth’s Resources

March 19, 2023
56
U.S. Geological Survey/wikimedia commons
Biodiversity & Habitat

Climate Change Amplifies Risk of ‘Insect Apocalypse’

December 1, 2022
70

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Pxfuel

Coal Giants Teck, Glencore Plan Exit as Trade Group Pitches Ludicrous Clean Rebrand

November 28, 2023
120
Untrakdrover/Wikimedia Commons

Portugal Runs All-Renewable Grid for 6 Days Straight

November 23, 2023
919
Junktuner/wikimedia commons

UAE Briefing Targets Canada for LNG Deals During COP28 Climate Discussions

November 28, 2023
73
McDonald's/flickr

McDonald’s Failing to Follow Through on Climate Promises, Critics Say

December 17, 2021
3.9k
Unsplash/Pixabay

‘LIKE THE TITANIC’: Climate Risk Estimates Shipwrecked by Neglect of Science

November 28, 2023
39
Monkeyboy0076/Wikimedia Commons

70% Chance of Emissions Reduction in 2024 Marks ‘Crucial Inflection Point’, Analysts Say

November 25, 2023
549

Recent Posts

Sask Power/flickr

Ottawa Pivots to Subsidize CCUS Projects that Use Captured CO2 to Extract More Oil

November 28, 2023
33
/State Sites of Ukraine

Canada Commits $7B to Carbon Contracts For Difference

November 28, 2023
32
EcoAnalytics

Canada Needs a Big Climate Win, Tied to Affordability

November 28, 2023
24
2happy/StockVault

Alberta Fossils Undercount Methane by 50% as Ottawa Touts New Rules

November 28, 2023
17
jasonwoodhead23/flickr

Suncor Reports Another Spill After AER Declines to Rethink Fort Hill Expansion

November 28, 2023
20
George Socka/Wikimedia Commons

GTHA Emissions Rise 8%, Gas Plant Pollution Up 56% in Two Years, Despite Clean, Affordable Alternatives

November 23, 2023
139
Next Post

Younger Americans More Concerned About Climate Change

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
Climate & Capital PrimaryLogo_FullColor
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2023 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}

We’re glad you’re here!

But with web platforms blocking Canadian news, you may not always be able to find us. Subscribe today and never miss another story from The Energy Mix.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

Learn more about news throttling and Bill C-18

We’re glad you’re here!

But with web platforms blocking Canadian news, you may not always be able to find us. Subscribe today and never miss another story from The Energy Mix.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

Learn more about news throttling and Bill C-18

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need