Report: Environmental danger of global demand for cold
The report indicates that due to changing demographics, particularly in Asia, the number of refrigerated vehicles on the road could feasibly reach 15.5 million by 2025, up from less than 3 million in 2013.
If changing demographics have the most dramatic foreseeable effect then this number could be as high as 18 million refrigerated vehicles on the road by 2025 – double previous estimates.
This rapid expansion in cold transportation reflects the growth of more affluent lifestyles amongst increasingly wealthy, urbanised populations in countries such as India and China. As these populations grow, it’s necessary to install cold chains to ensure more food reaches consumers in good condition, in order to prevent hunger and rising prices. It is also an indicator of much broader demand for cooling as economies grow and countries address issues such as food loss and public health.
But if this growth in demand occurs without new technologies being introduced, the environmental effects could be devastating. A conventional diesel powered transport refrigeration unit, which keeps a refrigerated lorry cold, can emit up to six times as much NOx and up to 29 times as much particulate matter as a modern diesel HGV engine.
If the global fleet of transport refrigeration vehicles reaches 15.5 million, then the refrigeration units alone would emit up to 740 million tonnes of CO2 each year. The emissions of particulate matter from the refrigeration units alone would also be equivalent to that emitted by over 450 million Euro 6 diesel trucks.
This report follows recent studies by the IMechE (A Tank of Cold: Cleantech Leapfrog to a More Food Secure World) and the Carbon Trust (The emerging Cold Economy), which also identify the rapidly growing future demand for cooling, along with the opportunity to establish a new industry to provide alternative clean cold technologies.
A downloadable copy of the report is available at www.dearmanengine.com
For further information:
Ben Heatley
Dearman
Tel: +44 (0) 203 617 9170
Email: ben.heatley@dearmanengine.com