1. Une consommation d’énergie en hausse et le droit au refroidissement? Doit-on envisager un droit à disposer d’un réfrigérateur et d’un climatiseur, comme il existe un droit au chauffage?
2. Des chaînes du froid pour un approvisionnement sain D’après les estimations de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), 30 % en moyenne de l’ensemble des denrées alimentaires sont perdues à défaut d’un entreposage frigorifique adapté. Dans les pays tropicaux, cette proportion atteint 50 %.

The working paper is to inform decision makers involved in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) preparation on the role that the RAC sector could play in countries’ INDC implementation as a key sector to achieve the goals formulated in the INDC. The paper briefly introduces the latest UNFCCC developments, GHG emission trends and reduction potentials of the RAC sector.

In China, the market for extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam used in building insulation increased the last years at double digit growth rates due to the fast rise of the economy and the associated construction boom. This growth in the market for insulation is brought about by new regulations on building insulation as part of the Chinese energy efficiency programme.

Refrigerators and air conditioning units feature high on the wish lists of people in hot countries. The International Energy Agency (IEA) calculates that by the year 2030 the energy consumption for air conditioning in developing countries and emerging nations will be four times what it is today. It is often the case that the gases used as refrigerants are produced chemically. They are damaging to the ozone layer and accelerate climate change. By contrast green technologies use natural gases in the cooling process, are more energy efficient and can be driven by sun or wind power.

Due to the rising temperatures, population, urbanization and economic growth, the demand of cooling and air conditioning is steadily increasing. The “Green Cooling Network” was established in order to promote a dialogue between stakeholders from industries, policy, research and non-governmental organizations. The project aims to implement the Cancun decisions to build efficient processes and structures that serve to accelerate the technology transfer for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

Initiated by the detection of the so called “ozone hole” over the Antarctic, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer came into force in 1987. The Protocol regulates the phase-out of production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in refrigeration and air conditioning. This phase-out has led to the introduction of new, environmental-friendly technologies in industrialized countries.