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Danfoss has been appointed a member of the new global Cooling for All panel, an initiative announced last month during the UN General Assembly.

The aim of the panel is to increase access to affordable and sustainable cooling solutions throughout the world.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe has estimated that, by 2050, the world’s population will reach about 9 billion — 70 per cent of whom will live in cities, which equates to adding 235 cities the size of Paris. This, combined with rising global temperatures, will result in a boom in demand for cooling devices such as air conditioners and refrigerators and a corresponding surge in energy demand, which will create additional impacts on our climate.

Currently, air conditioning and refrigeration cause 10 per cent of global CO2 emissions, which is three times the total emissions attributed to aviation and shipping, and still an estimated 1 billion people lack access to cooling.

The initiative was launched by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) with Danfoss represented by Jürgen Fischer, president of Danfoss Cooling.

“Danfoss looks forward to contributing our deep knowledge in this field and helping speed up implementation of energy-efficient and clean solutions,” he said.

Rachel Kyte, CEO of SEforALL and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for SEforALL, will act as secretariat for the Global Panel.

“As temperatures soar, cooling demands risk creating a significant increase in energy demand, which, if not managed through super-efficient technologies or clean sources, will cause further climate change impacts and a rise in emissions,” she said. “The work of the Global Panel will, therefore, be critical to develop the evidence we need to understand the challenges and opportunities of providing cooling access for all.”

Together, the Cooling for All panel will develop a comprehensive report which outlines recommendations and evidence for how to accelerate the uptake of solutions that create sustainable cooling access around the world. The report is expected to be published in 2018.

The panel’s work will, for the first time, create a direct intersect between three international agreements: the Paris Climate Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment — with one of the key goals of the amendment being to limit consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

The president of Danfoss North America, John Galyen, said the company continues to invest in cooling technologies.

“We invest in technologies that improve the efficiency levels of cooling technologies through our Application Development Centres in order to combat rising energy costs and CO2 emissions,” he said.