NewsClimate / WORLD
IllustrationSymbolic illustration
UNEP scenario: cooling emissions could reach 7.2bn tonnes by 2050
Business as usual projects demand more than tripling and cooling emissions reaching 7.2bn tonnes.
Event / data period: 2025-11-11
Published: · Updated:
IllustrationSustainable cooling could lower emissions to 2.6bn tonnes; power-sector change could enable a 97% cut.
These are modelled 2050 scenarios, not observations.
Data
Source-reported indicators
Numerical indicators for the scope and reference period defined by the source.
- Business-as-usual cooling emissions
- 7.2 billion tonnes CO₂
- 2050 · Forecast
- Sustainable Cooling Pathway emissions
- 2.6 billion tonnes CO₂
- 2050 · Forecast
- Reduction against business-as-usual scenario
- 64 percent
- 2050 · Forecast
Methodology
Separates UNEP’s 2050 business-as-usual projection from its sustainable-cooling scenario; values are modeled scenarios.
Updated: