Cooling on the move
The future of air conditioning in vehicles
Air conditioners in passenger cars, vans, buses and freight trucks – collectively
known as mobile air conditioning – consume large amounts of energy. The fuel they
use and their leaks of refrigerant are also responsible for a significant amount of
greenhouse gas emissions.
This report explores the current global energy consumption from mobile air conditioning
systems, along with the resulting greenhouse gas emissions from the energy consumption
and the leaking refrigerants. With no further policy action, energy use from mobile
air conditioning may almost triple to over 5.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per
day by 2050. At the same time, annual combined emissions from energy consumption and
refrigerant leakage could more than triple to 1 300 million tons of CO2 equivalent.
The report provides a summary review of the technical opportunities for improving
the efficiency of mobile air conditioning. This is complemented with a review of the
different types of alternative cooling refrigerants, and their potential impact on
global warming. These two analyses are combined to develop a scenario of high efficiency
and low global warming potential. The report’s analysis is based on a study of the
literature and makes use of the IEA’s Mobility Model, which provides insights into
the current and expected future stock of road vehicles.
Finally, the report explores the role government policy can play in supporting the
development and installation of more efficient mobile air conditioning systems.
Published on September 20, 2019