![\"man](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/worker-electronics-repair-shop-Karachi-Pakistan_ZofeenTEbrahim_IMG_3375.jpg\")
<\/div>Unlike their problematic predecessors chlorofluorocarbons, HFCs do not deplete the Earth\u2019s protective ozone layer. But they are powerful greenhouse gases that warm the Earth between 140 and 11,700 times<\/a> more than carbon dioxide. Refrigeration and air conditioning account for around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions<\/a> \u2013 three times more than aviation and shipping combined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In response, developed countries have pledged<\/a> to begin phasing out HFCs in 2019. Developing countries will follow suit between 2024 and 2028. Recently, Pakistan revealed it is taking the first step towards this. In October 2021, in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution<\/a>, it announced it will adopt a Pakistan Cooling Action Plan (PCAP) by 2026. This will \u201cidentify the key cooling needs and prioritize actions<\/a> for addressing current and future cooling demands with the minimum possible impact on the environment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Montreal Protocol) treaty was signed. Considered one of the world\u2019s biggest environmental success stories, it brought together governments and industry to phase out the use of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer.<\/p> In 2016, the Kigali Amendment was adopted. The new treaty came into force in January 2019, with the aim of fighting climate change by getting rid of HFCs (19 gases used extensively in the air-conditioning and refrigerant industry), considered thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. By 2050 this will eliminate the equivalent of 90 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and avoid up to 0.5C of global temperature rise.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n There is scant official information on the plan. But the news comes at a crucial moment in Pakistan\u2019s climate policy. Extreme heat is becoming more frequent and more deadly. In June last year, a heatwave<\/a> and increased demand for electricity for cooling coincided with supply interruptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the country develops and its population grows, cooling will become more critical. In addition to being important for human health and well-being, cooling technologies are important for economic development, with refrigeration necessary for industrial production and the preservation of food and medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe more the world warms, the more we use air conditioning to keep ourselves cooler,\u201d said Amna Shahab project manager on the cooling plan at the Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP<\/a>). CLASP is an international NGO focused on climate change mitigation, and one of the organisations helping draft Pakistan\u2019s cooling action plan. Shahab added most people do not realise \u201cthe greenhouse gases emitted by these cooling appliances are warming our world\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, Pakistan accounted for 0.7% of total global demand for air conditioning, with an estimated demand<\/a> of 824,000 units out of 111 million globally. Researchers have predicted that the country has the fifth-greatest potential demand<\/a> for air conditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPakistan\u2019s cooling problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n