Air conditioning emerges as essential tool in confronting rising global heat

A warming climate could push one in six of the world’s largest cities into annual heatwaves lasting over a month, with low-income regions experiencing nearly seven such events each year, according to the World Resources Institute. Despite this, air-conditioner penetration remains low—about 9 % in Indonesia and 5 % in India—while the International Energy Agency forecasts the global inventory to climb from 2.5 billion today to 5.6 billion by 2050.

In India alone, units could increase twenty-three-fold, raising power demand for cooling to as much as 75 % of current total electricity use. A United Nations report links cooling energy to roughly 7 % of today’s emissions, a share that could approach 8 % by mid-century without efficiency gains. Studies attribute a 75 % drop in heat-related deaths in the U.S. to residential air conditioning, and evidence shows that heat hampers workplace output and student learning. The article contends that denying cooling access would hinder development and undermine global climate cooperation, emphasizing the need for massive zero-carbon energy deployment to support widespread AC use.