Sustainable Energy for All: a project that focuses on change

The Sustainable Energy for All (or SE for ALL) project currently represents a key point of reference for the global energy transition.  Through carefully planned, close international collaboration, this initiative is working to promote equal access to energy, improved energy efficiency and clean technologies in emerging or developing nations.

Among the various areas of its work, one of the most urgent is access to sustainable cooling.  Global warming is causing increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, bringing extremely serious consequences not only for public health but also in terms of food security and the stability of power networks.  The lack of adequate cooling solutions could therefore create a vicious circle of poverty, malnutrition, health insecurity and loss of production.

An expanding global crisis

The latest analyses paint a clear picture: over a billion people are living in high risk conditions, without access to the cooling solutions necessary to protect them from the heat, for food storage and to maintain the cold chain for medicines.

The sector of the population at high risk is composed mainly of groups living in extreme rural areas or in rundown urban areas, where access to electricity is limited or intermittent and homes are ill-equipped to deal with the high temperatures.

Another 2.83 billion individuals are considered at medium risk, as although their financial conditions are better, they remain vulnerable due to inefficient devices and energy system instability.

The most vulnerable populations

Although it is a global issue, some categories are particularly hard-hit.  These include:

• high risk rural poor: families living in conditions of extreme poverty, without regular access to electricity and highly dependent on subsistence farming. The lack of an efficient cold chain compromises both food storage and vaccine efficiency.  In many cases, large distance from healthcare centres and unsuitable transport systems further exacerbate the situation, making it difficult to guarantee the security of medicines which are sensitive to high temperatures;
• high risk urban poor: in densely populated urban contexts, vulnerability takes on different, but equally serious forms. Many homes are without heat insulation, lack adequate natural ventilation and suffer frequent power cuts.  Families often do not have the necessary resources to purchase fans or refrigerators or they are are not able to use them continuously due to the unreliable electricity network.  The result is high exposure to extreme heat, a greater risk of malnutrition and a significant reduction in the quality of daily life;
• medium risk groups: these groups include people whose level of income is improving as they are in a transitional phase. These families are starting to purchase refrigerators and small air conditioning systems, often choosing cheaper, high energy consumption models.  This leads to increased pressure on already fragile electricity networks, higher energy expenditure for families and increased emissions linked to refrigeration.  Unregulated market development therefore risks further aggravating the situation rather than improving it.

Forecasts up to 2030: a growing risk

By 2030, forecasts indicate an increase of over 43 million people in the high risk category.  There will be a marked shift in vulnerability towards urban areas with the number of urban poor increasing by around 48 million, while the  number of high risk rural poor will tend to fall slightly, though still remaining very high.

This trend is caused by several factors: rapid urbanisation, demographic growth and growing pressure on inadequate infrastructures and resources.  Cities in developing countries in particular are growing rapidly but often chaotically, creating conditions that expose millions of families to extreme heat, food insecurity and reliance on precarious healthcare services.

The worst hit zones

According to data collected by the Sustainable Energy for All project, certain countries and geographical areas can be considered cooling crisis epicentres:

• India: the number of people in the medium risk category has risen by 55 million since 2019 and could exceed a billion by 2030. That country is experiencing a combination of economic growth and an increase in extreme temperatures, leading to a rise in demand for cooling systems, often unsupported by adeqate infrastructures.  Indian cities record some of the highest peak temperatures in the world and the use of inefficient cooling systems risks aggravating emissions and causing widespread blackouts;
• Sub-saharan Africa: the region with the greatest number of people at high risk. Lack of adequate infrastructure, population growth and constantly rising temperatures have created a dramtic situation. In many countries, electricity is only available for a few hours a day, the cold chain needed for food and medicine is intermittent and homes are ill-equipped to withstand the intense heat.

Without decisive action, this situation will continue to worsen in the coming decades.

The integrated strategy of Sustainable Energy for All

In order to deal with this global emergency, SEforALL promotes a systemic approach which is not limited to the adoption of new technologies, but also involves the entire energy supply and demand chain.

The first step is to reduce demand for cooling systems, through strategies suc as passive construction, sustainable urban planning and the use of high thermal efficiency materials.  Cities can be redesigned with a greater focus on providing shaded areas, green spaces and natural air circulation.

At the same time, it is essential to improve the energy efficiency of devices.   More rigorous standards and incentives to promote the production of high performance equipment can reduce both consumption and emissions, making cooling services accessible to more families without increasing pressure on electricity networks.

Another key aspect is cost efficiency.  Many countries are trying out innovative financial models, such as gradual payment, microcredit or public-private partnerships, which enable families to access efficient technologies without having to face prohibitively high initial costs.

Finaly, Sustainable Energy for All boosts the transition towards low climate impact refrigerants, which are indispensable in order to avoid the expanding air conditioning market contributing further to global greenhouse gas emissions.