Air-Conditioning Use Will Surge in a Warming World, U.N. Warns
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/climate/air-conditioning-electricity.html
By Hiroko Tabuchi, The New York Times.
Excerpt: Sixty nations committed on Tuesday to improve the efficiency of new air-conditioners by 50 percent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to those cooling machines by almost 70 percent, the latest in a flurry of global promises that aim to tackle climate change. ...a daunting future facing a warming planet: As global temperatures rise, more people will turn to air-conditioners to ward off the heat. But additional air-conditioning in buildings and other spaces, which is also driven by rising incomes, population growth and urbanization, means that the world could use more than double the electricity it does now to stay cool, leading to more planet-warming emissions, according to research released by the United Nations on Tuesday...