Raising Ambition in NDCs Through Holistic Mitigation Approaches in the Cooling Sector: Guidance for Policy Makers

Refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) is vital for human well-being, for example, to prevent food loss and guarantee supply with medical care with functioning cold chains and alleviate heat stress through space cooling. Mitigation targets and measures specific to the refrigeration sector can contribute significantly to the achievement of a country's overall climate objectives and should therefore be taken into account when defining and updating Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The RAC sector is responsible for a considerable amount of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the use of refrigerants (direct emissions) and from the operation of equipment with fossil fuel-based energy sources (indirect emissions). The consumption and production of most synthetic refrigerants, and more specifically hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), are controlled by the Montreal Protocol (MP) and its Kigali Amendment (KA). However, recent studies reveal that emission reductions resulting from a strict phase-out of HFCs according to the KA schedule are not in line with the 1.5 °C target of the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Full compliance with the KA would result in a 56% reduction in HFC emissions by 2050. But for a trajectory consistent with 1.5°C, a 70-80% reduction would be required (Purohit et al., 2022). In addition, indirect emissions from the RAC sector caused by equipment electricity consumption are steadily increasing. Thus, the energy demand for space cooling is expected to triple by 2050, if no measures are taken to address energy efficiency (IEA 2018). Consequently, it is crucial for countries to upgrade their NDCs with green cooling solutions.

To date, more than half of the countries that have developed an updated NDC have recognized the relevance of the refrigeration sector and have included HFCs in the scope of covered gases.   However, most NDCs lack concrete actions and implementation strategies for the RAC sector.

This guide aims to provide policy makers with detailed guidance on how to adequately integrate and cover the refrigeration sector in an NDC. In addition, it provides benchmarks for the level of ambition of actions targeting direct and indirect emissions from the RAC sector.