Conference Agenda

While refrigeration and air conditioning bring relief during heatwaves, the resulting direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from refrigerants and indirect emissions from energy consumption further contribute to global warming, creating the vicious cycle of cooling. This study, developed under Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI), introduces comprehensive scenario modelling to analyse an outlook based on diverse sustainable cooling pathways of the GHG emissions in the Middle East and North Africa region and Türkiye as basis to inform policymaking. Expert interviews were conducted with stakeholders from Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon to provide an overview of the impact of sustainable cooling policies and establish a baseline reflecting the current cooling landscape in the respective countries. The study finds that without policy interventions, each of the countries is positioned to face a significant rise in electricity consumption due to continued reliance on conventional technologies. Based on the scenarios modelling, this study provides policy recommendations.

Refrigeration plays crucial role in preserving perishable food items in millions of households. Its widespread use contributes significantly to electricity consumption and carbon emissions. According to Bureau of Energy Efficiency, refrigeration sector consumed 67 TWh of electricity and generated 57 MtCO2 emissions in 2017. In 2022, domestic refrigerators consume 3 TWh of electricity. According to ICAP, domestic refrigerator sales are expected to increase by 1.7 times, while the commercial refrigeration sector is poised for a 2-fold growth, leading to a surge in energy consumption. However, energy efficiency policy initiatives aim to mitigate this trend, with projected savings of 38.8 TWh of electricity and 30.4 MtCO2 emissions by 2030.

This paper examines effectiveness of India's energy efficiency policies for domestic and commercial refrigerators, implemented since 2006, and socio-economic benefits of using energy-efficient refrigerators. It sheds light on journey, achievements, and prospects for doubling energy efficiency and sustainability in the refrigeration sector.

This paper presents the findings of several works projecting global trends in population growth, human development index (HDI) and climate change along five Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), and how these separate disciplines impact the demand for refrigerated services. A methodology for approximating a country’s refrigerated storage capacity from the HDI value has been developed and presented in this paper. A globally applicable R-744 refrigeration system was simulated and used as a benchmark to approximate the global energy consumption required to support the evolving demand on refrigeration storage capacity throughout the 21^st century. An assessment of the solar energy potential from the expanding refrigeration storage capacity has been discussed and presented, highlighting an opportunity to offset the sector’s energy consumption and by extension, support the global transition to Net Zero society. The finding of this paper will provide global to national insight on how refrigeration storage will change by the end of the century for the benefit of cold chain strategies.