A new report has highlighted the ‘double bind’ presented by the rapid expansion of access to domestic refrigeration – the need to balance improvements in global living standards with the environmental impact of the additional 2.3 billion domestic refrigerators that may be in use globally by 2050 (+121% versus 2022).
The report, ‘Without Access to Fundamental Services: The Right to Refrigeration’, has been undertaken by home appliance leader Beko, and features contributions by world-leading cooling experts Professor Toby Peters and Dr Leyla Sayin from the University of Birmingham in the UK.
In their contribution to the report, the two experts highlight the many challenges that stand in the way of the universal provision of the essential service of refrigeration.
Globally, more than 1.2 billion lack of access to cooling and are consequently categorised as high-risk (~15% of the global population). Lack of effective refrigeration contributes to the loss of 526 million tonnes of food produced annually. This is enough to feed an estimated one billion people – representing its own massive emissions hazard. Improved access to refrigeration is impeded by the fact that 745 million people lack access to electricity and 3.5 billion suffer frequent power cuts. Entrenched poverty and inequality mean many cannot afford a fridge at all, whether on-grid or off. Cutting food waste is essential, given that in 2023, 333 million people were facing acute food insecurity.