International.
In a report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA) it is estimated that by 2030 around 700 million air conditioning units will have been installed worldwide, a figure that will reach 1.6 billion in 2050.
According to the report's authors, if global policies are not implemented to counter this growth, there will be "a large-scale impact on electricity generation capacity," along with "a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions," "especially in economies with hot climates." The global air conditioning market is growing rapidly, especially in emerging or developing countries.
The study by the US laboratory stipulates that if air conditioners were replaced by 30% more energy efficient ones and the refrigerant gases with the greatest environmental impact were phased out, the construction of up to 1,550 power plants could be counteracted.
In addition, this transition would avoid the emission of about 4,000 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, more than any country on the planet that is not China or the United States. Overall, the report indicates that the emission of 98 billion tons of carbon dioxide could be avoided by 2050.
The study places special emphasis on several countries such as India, since, as they highlight, "in these countries huge quantities of air conditioners will be installed, not only for comfort, but as a health need," explain the authors of the report.
Source: www.eldiario.es
