{"id":2345,"date":"2026-07-26T06:24:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T05:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/air-conditioning-wont-save-us-from-climate-change-scientists-warn\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T06:24:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T05:24:48","slug":"air-conditioning-wont-save-us-from-climate-change-scientists-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/air-conditioning-wont-save-us-from-climate-change-scientists-warn\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Conditioning Won’t Save Us from Climate Change, Scientists Warn"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a rapidly warming world, where heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense, air conditioning saves lives. But as a new study reminds us, its enormous energy consumption does not make it a sustainable solution.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Power-Hungry Technology in Full Swing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It is estimated that air conditioning<\/strong> could reduce heat-related mortality by up to 75%, and demand is rising rapidly. Currently, around 10 new air conditioners are sold each second, which by 2050 will translate into about 5.6 billion domestic systems in operation worldwide.<\/p>\n

Also read<\/span> Greenland melt and the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC): scientists rule out the worst-case scenario<\/span><\/section>\n

Although they are highly effective at lowering indoor temperatures, these devices consume enormous amounts of electricity and also use refrigerants, such as hydrofluorocarbons, which contribute to climate change<\/strong>. Today, it is estimated that air conditioning and mechanical cooling systems are responsible for nearly 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and this ecological cost is set to soar in the coming decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cAir conditioning saves lives and will remain indispensable during heat waves<\/em>,\u201d notes Mat Santamouris, a researcher at the University of New South Wales and the lead author of the new study, published in the journal Nature Reviews Clean Technology<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we cannot rely on it alone to address climate change<\/em>,\u201d he continues. \u201cIf every building depended entirely on mechanical cooling, we would place enormous pressure on electrical grids while further increasing heat in our cities<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also read<\/span> When night falls, the Amazon releases more CO\u2082 than previously thought<\/span><\/section>\n
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What Alternatives to Air Conditioning?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Among passive cooling technologies capable of effectively lowering temperatures in buildings, the researcher and his colleagues cite radiative coatings, as well as next-generation reflective materials. Mentioning a higher upfront cost, they note that in the medium term these would become more advantageous than air conditioning systems, without causing further warming<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best cooling strategy is above all to prevent unwanted heat from entering buildings<\/em>,\u201d details Santamouris. \u201cShade, reflective materials, and more efficient ventilation would significantly reduce indoor temperatures before an air conditioner needs to be switched on<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe buildings we construct today will still be standing in 2050 and beyond. They must be designed to withstand tomorrow\u2019s climate, not yesterday\u2019s<\/em>,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n

Also read<\/span> Each night, billions of marine animals migrate in the dark and slow the warming of climate<\/span><\/section>\n

If you haven\u2019t yet succumbed to an air conditioner, there are simple ways to cool your home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[621,214,590,1982,428,294,826,508],"class_list":["post-2345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-air","tag-change","tag-climate","tag-conditioning","tag-save","tag-scientists","tag-warn","tag-wont","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2345"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2347,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345\/revisions\/2347"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}