2023-08-05 09:22:15
Widespread in the United States, decried in Europe, coveted in South Asia: in the face of intensifying heat waves, air conditioning has become a subject of global debate. Despite its negative impact on the climate, will it really be possible to continue without it in the future?
For better or for worse, it is one of the most widespread adaptation solutions in a warming world. For millions of inhabitants, air conditioning has become a quasi-good of first necessity, ensuring neither more nor less than their survival, according to experts.
But while air conditioning brings immediate relief, it is costly for the climate. Because to supply these air conditioners with electricity, power plants release more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, warming the planet even more.
Currently, air conditioning is responsible for the emission of approximately one billion tons of CO2 per year out of a total of 37 billion emitted worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), or nearly 3%.
Tens of thousands of lives already saved by air conditioning
Is it possible to stop this vicious circle? Yes, plead the specialists. And not necessarily by doing without it completely, but by developing the share of renewable energies, by designing less energy-intensive air conditioners and by considering other cooling techniques. “Some purists think we shouldn’t use air conditioning at all, but I think it’s just not feasible,” said Robert Dubrow, director of the Center for Climate Change and Health at Yale University. .
Access to air conditioning already saves tens of thousands of lives a year, a figure that is growing, according to a recent rapport of the AIE, of which he is one of the authors. Studies show that the risk of heat-related death is reduced by around 75% for homes with an air conditioner. In the United States, where approximately 90% of households are equipped, other studies have highlighted the role of air conditioning in protecting the population and the potentially devastating effect of power cuts in the heat wave.
A heavy environmental cost
Globally, however, of the 3.5 billion people who live in hot climates, only regarding 15% have air conditioning, notes the IEA.
The number of air conditioners in the world (regarding 2 billion today) is therefore set to soar, under the combined effect of rising temperatures and incomes, particularly in China, India and Indonesia. In India, the share of households equipped with air conditioners might increase from 10% to 40% by 2050, significantly reducing the population’s exposure to heat, according to a recent study.
Heat spikes in California are driving up electricity demands. [Damian Dovarganes – Keystone/AP Photo]
But the additional electricity required would be equivalent to the annual production of a country like Norway. If the Indian network then still uses as much fossil energy, this would mean around 120 million tonnes of CO2 more emitted, or 15% of the country’s energy sector emissions today.
The problems posed by the air conditioning do not stop there. Air conditioners generally use refrigerant gases (like HFCs) which can be thousands of times more powerful than CO2 in terms of warming when they escape into the atmosphere. In addition, by throwing hot air into the streets, air conditioning contributes to the urban heat island effect. A 2014 study simulated the temperature rise, at night, at 1°C in the city center.
Air conditioning also poses a huge equity problem. The cost prevents many families from having access to it. And even when the device is installed, the price of the electricity bill can force them to choose between cooling and other essential needs.
Complementary approaches sought
“In some countries”, but also “for some vulnerable people”, such as the elderly or pregnant, “we really need air conditioning”, judges Enrica De Cian, researcher on these issues at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice. . But for her, combining it with other complementary approaches is essential.
First, by continuing to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity production, so that that used by air conditioners leads to fewer emissions. But also by developing and installing affordable air conditioners that consume less energy, which start-ups are working on (read framed). The IEA is advocating for stricter efficiency standards, but also for air conditioners not to be set below 24°C.
According to Clara Camarasam, expert at the IEA, “the existence of minimum energy performance standards and labels affixed to equipment is essential. In the European Union and the United States, standards and labels have already made it possible to reduce more than half the energy consumption of air conditioners. But it is true that you can always find inefficient equipment there, and that is our mantra: an efficient product is not necessarily more expensive”.
“We must manage to cool ourselves in a viable way”
Beyond emissions, these aspects would make it possible to limit the risks of power cuts linked to excessive demand. On hot days, the air conditioning can represent more than half of the peak consumption.
But above all, the experts hammer home the simultaneous need for land-use planning measures: multiplication of green spaces and bodies of water, sidewalks and roofs reflecting the sun’s rays, better insulation of buildings… “We must be able to cool ourselves in a viable way”, summarizes Robert Dubrow, because with global warming, “things will only get worse”. However, many of these solutions are “very feasible” according to him. “Putting them in place is just a matter of political will.”
>> See also the 7:30 p.m. topic on the hottest month of July 2023 in history:
July is the hottest month on record. These extreme climatic phenomena are worrying / 7:30 p.m. / 1 min. / July 27, 2023
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