ShareIIR Statement at COP30
Transcript of the official IIR delegation speech delivered at COP30 in Bélem, Brazil by Graeme Maidment, President of IIR Commission E2 : Heat Pumps and Energy Recovery.
Honourable Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
As we gather here at COP30, marking ten years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, we are reminded of both the extraordinary commitment made in 2015 and the urgency that now defines our path forward. The International Institute of Refrigeration, the world’s only intergovernmental scientific organisation dedicated to refrigeration and heat pump technologies, stands firmly in support of the global effort to keep the 1.5°C goal alive.
Refrigeration and heat pumps are far more than technologies, they are critical infrastructures essential to food security, healthcare, human well-being, and economic resilience. Yet they are also central to the climate equation. Refrigeration already represents about 20% of global electricity consumption, and without rapid action, this demand will double by 2050. At the same time, hundreds of millions of heat pumps are urgently needed to replace fossil-fuel heating and deliver clean, efficient comfort.
Today, 12% of the world’s food production is still lost due to inadequate cold chains, food that could nourish nearly one billion people. As global temperatures and populations rise, cooling demand will accelerate, heightening vulnerability to heatwaves and threatening progress on health and development.
As we reflect on a decade of the Paris Agreement, it is clear that achieving its objectives requires not only ambition, but coherence. The IIR, with 118 years of international cooperation, firmly believes that a just refrigeration transition and equitable access for all can only be achieved through collaboration among all refrigeration stakeholders, supported by policy decisions grounded in independent and unbiased scientific knowledge.
However, collaboration must be matched with coordinated governance. Fragmented responsibilities across ministries and sectors undermine environmental and public-health goals. Disconnected approaches lead to inefficiencies, missed synergies, and policies that fail to address real-world complexity.
Delivering on our shared commitments requires integrated strategies that link agriculture, energy, transport, health, and environmental systems, fully aligned with the One Health approach, which recognises the interdependence of humans, animals, and ecosystems.
For this reason, the IIR calls on all governments to establish national inter-institutional platforms to coordinate sustainable refrigeration and heat-pump efforts across all applications. Only through such coherent governance can countries accelerate the transition to energy-efficient technologies, scale up low-GWP refrigerants, and build resilient cold chains that protect livelihoods, strengthen health systems, and enhance food security.
A decade after Paris, the lesson is clear: we can only fulfil our climate commitments by treating sustainable refrigeration and heat pumps as central pillars of resilience and climate action.
The IIR remains committed to supporting all nations in implementing their NDCs through scientific guidance, capacity building, and tailored solutions that meet each country’s priorities.
Fulfilling the commitments of Paris depends on prioritising sustainable refrigeration and heat pumps, ensuring that countries act decisively to build a resilient and healthy future for generations to come.
Thank you.