Cold chain - Institute For Governance & Sustainable Development

The Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE) at University of Maryland, the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), Centro Studi Galileo, and the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) have released the Handbook of Best Practices: Room Air Conditioner Installation for the Lowest Carbon Footprint, which explains how to appropriately install high-efficiency room air conditioners (RACs) for the highest energy efficiency and lowest carbon footprint over the products’ lifetime. This comprehensive, open-source guide has been created for HVAC professionals and their business, government, and residential customers.

With climate change and energy efficiency at the forefront of global conversations, the importance of minimizing the carbon footprint of everyday appliances cannot be overstated. Air conditioning creates comfortable work and living spaces, and in climate hotspots is becoming necessary for human survival. RACs also place significant demands on national energy grids and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. By focusing on optimal installation, the Handbook offers practical steps to mitigate these environmental impacts.

Topics covered include:

Energy-Efficient Installation Techniques: Explains how the placement and setup of your AC unit can enhance energy efficiency, ensuring that RACs run at peak performance while using less power.
Choosing the Right RAC Unit: Takes an in-depth look at selecting high-efficiency, eco-friendly air conditioners that are best suited for different climates and building types.
Refrigerant Management: Reveals the latest developments on sustainable refrigerants that minimize harmful emissions and promote cooling with lower environmental impact.
Smart Thermostat Integration: Provides Best Practices for integrating RACs with smart technologies to optimize cooling cycles for reduced energy usage.
Maintenance and Longevity: Gives tips for maintaining RAC systems to ensure they remain efficient over time, helping to extend their life cycle and reduce the need for replacement units.

The authors welcome suggestions from RAC experts regarding edits and additions as the Handbook is improved and made available for translation to other languages.

The Global Cooling Watch report, Keeping it Chill: How to meet cooling demands while cutting emissions – by the UN Environment Programme-led Cool Coalition – lays out sustainable cooling measures in three areas: passive cooling, higher-energy efficiency standards, and a faster phase down of climate-warming refrigerants. The report is released in support of the Global Cooling Pledge, a joint initiative between the United Arab Emirates as host of COP28 and the Cool Coalition.

IGSD Chief Scientist Dr. Gabrielle Dreyfus served as the lead topical author of the chapter on refrigerants.

Each year, one-third of the total food for human consumption is either lost or wasted even as millions worldwide experience food insecurity. Similarly, over 25 percent of vaccines are wasted each year while millions die from vaccine-preventable illnesses Sustainable cold chain infrastructure can significantly reduce post-harvest food loss and vaccine wastage and deliver social and climate benefits. However, acknowledging the need for cold storage alone does not ensure food security or access to vaccines, and must be supported by policies and resources, including technologies. Cooperation among G20 countries on cold chains can help coordinate the policies and resources necessary to advance food security, public health, and climate change mitigation.