Against the backdrop of rising cooling demand, and the first-ever Global Cooling Watch Report, launched yesterday at this year’s COP28, Danfoss has endorsed a global pledge in support of sustainable cooling.
Launched at COP28 in Dubai and led by the COP28 UAE Presidency, the Global Cooling Pledge sets out a series of commitments by governments to accelerate emission reductions from energy use and refrigerants towards near-zero emission cooling in 2050. Over 60 governments and other corporations have agreed to the pledge.
Jürgen Fischer, President, Danfoss Climate Solutions, said: “Cooling is one of the biggest societal opportunities of our time. It’s needed everywhere to cool our food, our buildings, and our vaccines. It brings health, growth, and food security for the world’s population. The commitments made by governments through the Global Cooling Pledge are a brave step, but now we must see them take action, implement the technologies readily available today and spread sustainable, energy efficient and climate friendly cooling technologies around the globe. Action is needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C.”
District cooling was highlighted by Danfoss as one of the most promising and efficient ways to cool and decarbonise buildings.
It typically saves up to 50% of energy compared to conventional cooling systems.
In most cases, chilled water is supplied from a central, electrically powered chiller and circulated to buildings through pipelines. Thermal storage opportunities in district cooling networks enable shifting cold-water production away from peak hours and adapting to variable renewable energies.
Centralised plants, it said, help professionalise refrigerant management and support the move towards more climate-friendly refrigerants.
From an urban planning perspective, heat islands, noise and space requirements can be avoided.
Similar trends are expected for cold chain and refrigeration applications as electricity use is set to grow significantly with the much-needed expansion of the cold chain to provide food, medicine and vaccines for a growing population.
It also highlighted that near-zero emission cooling is possible.
“Emissions in 2050 could be cut by 97% with readily available technology: one-third could already be achieved by compliance with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the most important driver to reduce refrigerant emissions and state-of-the-art energy efficiency. The remainder could be reached by stepping up actions on energy efficiency and refrigerants, reducing the need for cooling and fully decarbonising the grid,” it said.
End users could save $1 trillion per year by 2050 due to reduced electricity use.
Further, it shared that reduced peak loads on electricity networks would translate to a reduction in peak electricity demand between 1.5 TW and 2 TW, resulting in $4 trillion to $5 trillion savings by 2051.
“Combining high energy efficiency in cooling with the transition to more environmentally friendly refrigerants is a very powerful way to reduce emissions and cost. District cooling and the phase-out of refrigerants with a high impact on global warming are just two examples of many that can make a major difference. Technologies and solutions to reduce cooling-related emissions are already in use around the world, and I urge the leaders behind the Global Cooling Pledge to see them into action. Seeing is believing,” said Fischer.
Andrea Voigt, Head of Global Public Affairs, Danfoss Climate Solutions, concludes: “There’s ample evidence that policies aimed at phasing down high global warming potential refrigerants combined with measures to increase energy efficiency will lead to tangible results. Training is another crucial, yet often neglected success factor. At Danfoss we look forward to collaborating with our customers and governments to create sustainable ecosystems ranging from hardware and software solutions to training and adequate policies that will make the energy and refrigerant transition a success for all.”