International. In a side session held during AHR Expo 2022 in Las Vegas, Stephen Gill, founder of World Refrigeration Day, announced that Cooling Matters would be the theme of the day 2022. "Our goal is to raise public awareness of the essential benefits of cooling, how cooling affects daily life, and how technology choices foster the environmental well-being of future generations." World Refrigeration Day will be celebrated on 26 June.
"Refrigeration is at the very heart of modern life. It allows people to live and work comfortably, it saves lives, it allows people to achieve achievements. The need for refrigeration is everywhere, touching lives in fantastic, yet often unnoticed, ways. However, there we see it, cooling is important for us," Gill said.
According to the secretariat, despite policies, standards and codes related to the refrigeration and air conditioning industry, there is still a significant lack of public understanding about the importance of cooling even though issues such as the refrigerant transition, emission reduction and maximization of energy efficiency for decades by governments have been addressed, due to global policies and binding international frameworks.
At AHR, partner groups from previous World Refrigeration Day campaigns described how the day serves as a platform to educate the public about the benefits of refrigeration. Previous campaigns focused on refrigerant options that protect the ozone layer, using the cold chain to distribute food, medicine and vaccines, and promoting "cool" races.
Together, these partner groups represent half a million engineers and technicians, more than a thousand equipment service providers and nearly 200 government agencies and agencies: United Nations Environment Programme Ozone Action, ASHRAE, European Association for Energy and the Environment, Federation of Ibero-America American Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Associations, Global Food Cold Chain Council, International Refrigeration Institute, Indian Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, and Union of African Actors' Associations in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. They are among a hundred national and international associations that are allies of World Refrigeration Day.
"The public can make decisions that minimize environmental impacts when selecting, operating and maintaining cooling equipment," Gill explained. According to the International Energy Agency, the average efficiency of air conditioners sold today is less than half of what is usually available on shelves, and one-third of the best technology available.
Buildings generate almost 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. Of those total emissions, construction operations are responsible for an additional 28% per year, while building materials and construction are responsible for an additional 11% per year. "The way RAC systems are maintained and operated is one of the most important actions the world can take to address climate change," said Rajan Rajendran on behalf of the ASHRAE Refrigeration Committee and the Global Food Cold Chain Council.
The challenge will only be greater. "Half of the buildings standing in 2060 have not yet been built," said Ayman Eltalouny, representing UNEP OzonAction. There are 3.6 billion refrigeration units in use today. By 2050, that number is expected to be 9.5 billion. "If left unchecked, emissions from refrigeration appliances are expected to double by 2030. They will triple by 2100 due to heat waves, population growth, urbanization and a growing middle class. Moving to the best available cooling technologies would reduce cumulative emissions by 38 gigatons of CO2 emissions by 2030. This would prevent future greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 2018 levels."
And there is a growing need for food. "Due to population growth, the world will need 60% more food by 2050. The unfortunate reality is that much of the world's food supply is lost due to waste," Rajendran said. "Increased refrigeration in emerging economies is required to meet this growing demand. A wider refrigeration application could save some 475 million tons of food that is currently lost."
"We need to communicate to the public that refrigeration has value if we hope to have policies that encourage the use of low-carbon refrigeration and air conditioning," Rajendran said.
Said Gill, "Cooling Matters will tell the story of how our well-being depends on cooling and how cooling technology options can safeguard the well-being of future generations. We encourage the entire refrigeration and air conditioning industry to join us in celebrating World Refrigeration Day 2022. Join the global community conversation using the hashtags #coolingmatters and WREFD22."
