Focus on COP 26

The Conference of the Parties (COP) 26 was held in Glasgow (UK) from 31 October to 13 November 2021. Its results, while not seeming spectacular, nevertheless reflect important developments that should be noted, particularly for their impact in the field of refrigeration:

• The reduction in the use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) has clearly become an objective to be reached, and some countries have made commitments in this direction;
• Various rules for implementing the Paris Agreement have been set and commitments regarding forests and methane have been made,
• The issue of adapting to climate change has become central, whereas all efforts were previously focused on mitigating climate change. Additional funds will be allocated to developing countries in this respect;
• Finally, the "Nationally Determined Contributions" tabled before the COP, if implemented, would allow to reduce the average temperature increase from +3.6 °C to +2.7 °C (compared to the countries' commitments at the Paris COP), which is very insufficient but still notable.

Finally, it should be noted that refrigeration is now an integral part of these "Nationally Determined Contributions" for an increasing number of countries and was featured much more prominently than usual in the COP "side events". The cold chain for food and health, as well as the limitation of urban temperatures through air conditioning or passive cooling were widely addressed, notably by the IIR, reflecting a new global priority for the years to come.