Decarbonization of cooling of buildings

Abstract

Global energy demand for space cooling is growing very fast. In the emerging economies, building construction is projected to be a very intense activity in the coming years. This would mainly be driven by increasing population, growing wealth, rising aspirations of an improved lifestyle and rapid pace of urbanization. These countries are mostly in tropical and warm climatic region. The prevailing temperatures in these countries make space cooling a necessity. This will trigger a dramatic increase in the demand for cooling. As a result, building energy consumption and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will continue to rise at a very high rate. If immediate appropriate measures are not taken, the state of technologies and the GHG emissions will be locked in for many decades. This paper discusses the existing space cooling technologies and their suitability to provide comfort cooling in the context of warm and humid climates. The low carbon alternatives for space cooling have been reviewed, and the strategies that can be adopted to reduce cooling loads and carbon emissions have been deliberated. Building sector in warm and tropical climate has significant untapped potential, and therefore offers a potential means for decarbonization. Relevant policies adopted and implemented in a country will play the major role.