A new joint study by CMCC, RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment and Boston University highlights the growing reliance on air conditioning (AC) as a response to rising global temperatures, but warns of unequal access and environmental costs. Researchers project that global AC adoption could rise from 27% of households today to 41% by mid-century, with a doubling in electricity consumption for residential cooling. This increase could result in up to 1,365 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Despite the growth, up to 4 billion people, particularly in low-income regions, may still lack access to AC by 2050, exacerbating health risks and inequality. The authors’ global projections facilitate the inclusion of AC’s effects on vulnerability, health, and decarbonization in integrated climate change assessments.
The full article is available online on the ACCREU project Community in the Zenodo platform.