Too green to scale? Why R290 is still struggling in room air conditioning and how to make it the standard.
Key Areas of Focus:
- Best practices: what is working today, how to accelerate transition
- Innovations & trends: what is already working, what will come tomorrow
- Dialogue with sector experts: what to expect along the road
Background
Roughly 90 million (opens in a new window) single split air conditioners (ACs) are sold worldwide each year . Sales numbers have doubled over the last 20 years, and the demand keeps growing due to ongoing climate change and increasing incomes in developing countries. Single split ACs and chillers are used for both cooling and heating purposes and are therefore operating throughout most of the year. With the refrigerant R 290 (propane, GWP = 0.02), an efficient, climate- and environment-friendly alternative exists for both ACs and commercial chillers, and the number of manufacturers offering such alternatives is rapidly increasing. Replacing all new split ACs with R-32 by either R 290 appliances or chillers with R 290 or other natural refrigerants would prevent adding almost 61 M t CO2e of refrigerant banks annually1, while lowering cost and increasing efficiency for the users. Amidst these positive treats and evident benefits, the transition towards R 290 and other natural cooling alternatives should be self-going but have yet to take off. Why is the transition not happening?
190 M R-32 (GWP = 675) split-AC units with 1 kg charge size on average equals 60.75 M t CO2e of refrigerant.
Objective
Accelerating the global transition towards sustainable cooling and heating in buildings with natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons, ammonia (R 717) or CO2 (R 744) will benefit both ozone and climate protection and create a foundation for sustainable development – benefitting end-users and manufacturers alike. The Green Cooling Summit 2026 will dissect the barriers to sustainable cooling in buildings and present economic solutions on how to overcome them. Experts from the sector will present already available and scalable technology, innovative financing and tested policy solutions for upscaling sustainable cooling and heating in buildings. The interactive exchange and dialogue with key stakeholders make the GCS 2026 a starting point for multiplying future collaboration and transformation towards sustainable cooling and heating in buildings.
Mark your calendar! Agenda and registration form will follow soon.