Yutaka Shoda, Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Japan.
The purpose of COP26 is to keep the planet cool, a task at which we have so far not excelled. Even the latest Nationally Determined Contributions do not help us to catch up. We need to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to stay on the least-cost pathway to 1.5°C of warming. Beyond this temperature limit, more than two billion people could be vulnerable to severe heatwaves.
This, unfortunately, is where we encounter one of the vicious cycles that we must escape. The need for cooling in our daily lives will grow to protect people against heat extremes. But the way we cool our homes and workplaces is a major driver of climate change.
Today, around 10 per cent of the world’s electricity is used for air conditioning. If left unchecked, emissions related to cooling are expected to double by 2030 – driven by heat waves, population growth, urbanization and the demands of a growing middle class.
Friends, it is obvious that we need a rapid transition to climate friendly and energy-efficient cooling.
It is equally obvious that this transition is entirely possible. Phasing out climate warming refrigerants under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, in combination with energy efficiency improvements, can avoid the equivalent of 4-8 years of total annual greenhouse emissions by 2050.
And this is just one piece of the cooling puzzle. We can do much with smart buildings, urban form, and nature-based solutions. By transforming concrete jungles into urban forests, mandating green roofs and walls, and increasing tree canopy cover, we can make our cities cool and livable. To give just one example, investing USD 100 million annually in urban trees would give 77 million people a 1°C reduction in maximum temperatures on hot days.
Governments and cities can do a lot to move to sustainable cooling.
At national level, policy frameworks can shift the market. Towards energy efficient equipment and appliances. Towards renewable-powered cold chains. Towards climate friendly refrigerants.
Implementing effective efficiency regulation for cooling products in developing and emerging economies can shave USD 100 billion off electricity bills each year. Enhance grid stability. Reduce pollution from power stations. Provide emissions reductions equivalent to taking 500 large powerplants offline.
Countries can also develop National Cooling Action Plans to cool sustainably – including through cold chains that keep food fresh and vaccines viable. Through anchoring action on cooling in their climate strategies and through smart investments.
Friends, to move the cooling agenda forward, UNEP offers a comprehensive approach to accelerate action on the ground.
The cooling challenge is complex. It cuts across the interests of groups focused on agriculture, health, energy and the environment, infrastructure and trade, and industry. To bring change, we need a coordinated approach and lots of cooperation. UNEP and its many partners are bringing together diverse groups to create this coordinated approach.
The Efficient Cooling Initiative, under the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, and the UNEP-led Cool Coalition are supporting countries, cities and industry take comprehensive action – contributing to the Paris Agreement, Montreal Protocol and Agenda 2030.
Meanwhile, the Cool Coalition and CCAC have joined forces with the Ozone Secretariat, OzonAction, the Food and Agriculture Organization and Italy to help nations slow climate change and reduce hunger through sustainable cooling and cold chains.
To mobilize investment, the Cool Coalition started a Cooling Finance Working Group with the Green Climate Fund, World Bank Group, and E3G. This group aims to help countries attract finance and build capacity in banks to mainstream sustainable cooling within their portfolio.
These are a just a few examples. You will hear more today.
What we need to do now is accelerate action and bring everybody together under one vision. A vision of a world in which we keep our planet, homes and workplaces cool by combining the right technologies with the power of the natural world. Yes, we have gotten it wrong on cooling. But now we can and must get it right.
Thank you.
