Jannike Kihlberg: Calming a Hot Issue in the Climate Crisis

Air conditioning systems are the cause of climate change and a response to climate change already. The climate crisis, in which the average global temperature is now just over one degree higher than it was at the end of the nineteenth century, can be observed in the daily lives of many.

The focus when it comes to reducing emissions has always been on transportation, lighting and heating. Increasing energy use to cool homes and workplaces in a warming world has not received the same public attention.

Forecast showed already eight years ago From the UN Climate Committee IPCC That globally, already in the middle of the century, more energy will be used for cooling than for heating.

The use of air conditioners and fans already accounts for a tenth of global electricity consumption, and with rising incomes and a growing population, demand will rise dramatically in the coming decades, according to the International Energy Agency, the International Energy Agency.

The rapidly growing number of air conditioners in India sheds light on the issue of justice in the climate crisis.

low income more heat waves than those with higher incomes, according to A study in nature. Densely populated areas in urban environments can have temperatures several degrees higher than adjacent areas with green roofs.

Factors that play a role in extreme heat is that many cannot afford or access air conditioning, and thus become more exposed to heat.

In the dramatic final stages of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow two months ago an exhibitor Indian Environment Minister Bhubandar Yadav’s installations On the “phasing out of coal” and “fossil subsidies”. He said that subsidizing fossil materials is a way to support the country’s poor.

India is a large emitter as a nation, but the average Indian generates emissions as large as one-tenth of the emissions of the average American. When the standard of living rises and more Indian families have air conditioners, just as it has in rich countries, it means big challenges for the climate.

How is electricity produced? A world that is being cooled becomes critical. But if we are to beat the climate crisis, societal change is required, and when cities and buildings are to be planned, a warmer climate must be included, it could be about planting more trees, and having windows that let in light and not heat.

According to the Paris Agreement, the world’s richest countries have a responsibility to take precedence over climate action and also to support developing countries. The world has a big task ahead when the transition is done and is just.

Read more:

Air conditioning will soon be a must in India – but it’s exacerbating the climate crisis