Refrigeration is now clearly considered as a fundamental necessity for safeguarding human health, and as a major factor in the actions to be taken to both mitigate and adapt to global warming, over and above its long-acknowledge role in destroying and now restoring the stratospheric ozone layer.
The Conference of the Parties on Climate Change in Dubai in December 2023 was a key milestone. The IIR shared a pavilion and organised numerous side-events with the Montreal Protocol partners, thanks to its Secretariat. The ‘Global Cooling Pledge’ endorsed by 70 countries in Dubai also exemplifies this. Prepared by the Cool Coalition in close cooperation with the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), which assisted with the drafting of the preparatory report, it clearly establishes the necessity of refrigeration and the unstoppable increase in its use, particularly in developing countries. Refrigeration is crucial for limiting food losses and ensuring proper nutrition throughout the world. It is essential for preserving many healthcare products such as vaccines. Furthermore, it plays a vital role in tackling the heat waves that affect most countries and will affect them even more in the future – with air conditioning becoming a vital necessity.
However, the development of refrigeration must be sustainable. Two key requirements have been clearly identified: first, the urgent ratification and implementation of the Kigali Amendment to drastically reduce the use of refrigerants with a high greenhouse effect potential (refrigerants still account for 2.5% of the global greenhouse effect). Second, the need to improve the energy efficiency of equipment, as the energy consumption in the refrigeration sector accounts for more than 5% of the global greenhouse effect and 20% of global electricity consumption (IIR data). These figures are projected to double by 2050.
Naturally, the IIR was among the first to commit to the Global Cooling Pledge, and its strategy includes a robust set of initiatives, including:
- Continuing to publish notes for policymakers on these highly political subjects. You will find below the summary for policymakers of its latest informatory note on CO2 emissions from air conditioning. Two other notes on natural refrigerants and heat pumps will be published soon;
- Organising scientific and technical conferences on wider topics; in 2026, in partnership with the Institute of Refrigeration (UK), the IIR will launch a new series of conferences on the adaptation of refrigeration to rising temperatures;
- Initiating new regional or national projects aimed at developing sustainable refrigeration, aligned with the National Cooling Action Plans promoted by the Global Cooling Pledge and intended to form an integral part of the Nationally Determined Contributions, with the help of our international network of experts and national refrigeration associations, with training as a key pillar.
In the following pages, you will find a diverse range of global projects and achievements in the field of sustainable refrigeration. This challenge is everyone’s concern, and the IIR stands ready to take it up.
Didier Coulomb
Yosr Allouche