Countries commit to Global Cooling Pledge

More than 60 countries have committed to the Global Cooling Pledge at the UN Climate Change
Conference (COP28) in Dubai, including the US, the UK, Canada and Kenya, which was the first country to sign on.

The pledge focuses on the climate impacts of the cooling and refrigeration sector and emphasises the importance of sustainable cooling, which will play a key role in both climate mitigation and adaptation. HVAC&R News understands Australia has not signed the pledge, although there is still time to do so.

You can find a list of signatories to the Global Cooling Pledge so far at the bottom of the page.

The commitments the signatories have made include:

• Avoiding the release of 78 billion tonnes of CO₂e by 2050 by converting to sustainable cooling
• Reducing cooling-related emissions across all sectors by at least 68 per cent from 2022 levels by 2050
• Increasing the average energy efficiency of new air conditioning equipment sold by 50 per cent by 2030 from 2022 levels
• Recognising that 4 billion people globally have no or inadequate access to cooling, with women and girls disproportionately affected
• Acknowledging that the lack of sustainable cold chains results in the loss of 12 per cent of food produced globally
• Recognising that mechanical cooling accounts for 20 per cent of global electricity consumption
• Moving away from refrigerants with high global warming potential
• Ratifying the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol by 2024
• Acknowledging that global heat-related deaths increased 68 per cent between 2000-04 and 2017-21
• Publishing a national cooling action plan.

“This pledge is a recognition of the significance of the cooling sector’s contribution to climate change and the unquestionable need to phase out HFCs, especially as we look to enhance cooling access in a warming world,” says Avipsa Mahapatra, EIA US Climate Campaign Director.

“The good news is that the established institutions, mechanisms and experience of the Montreal Protocol can be leveraged to accelerate the mitigation of emissions. Given it has been seven years since the Kigali Amendment, countries and companies now must go beyond words and ensure truly sustainable cooling.”

While Australia’s decision not to sign the pledge might prompt questions locally, there are several possible explanations. For starters, Australia is already a signatory to the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment. It’s also worth noting that Australia would be unlikely to achieve a 50 per cent increase in the efficiency of air conditioning by 2030 given that minimum efficiency standards are already in place.

List of countries that have signed the Global Cooling Pledge

Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Chile, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Micronesia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Spain, Sria Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Vietnam, Zimbabwe.