In September 2015 the United Nations launched the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, 17 goals to achieve three extraordinary things by 2030 – end poverty, combat climate change, and fight injustice and inequality.
Developments in thermal energy technologies (heating and cooling) and the global cold economy has an important part to play if we are to achieve the Global Goals, according to Professor Toby Peters in his paper ‘Clean cold sits at the nexus of sustainable social and economic progress’.
Professor Peters writes, ‘The cold economy, and particularly the recycling of liquid natural gas waste cold, could have a significant part to play in achieving the Global Goals.’
‘It could help solve both the problems caused by the absence of adequate cooling infrastructure in developing countries, and those caused by booming demand and highly polluting conventional cooling technologies.’
Overall, clean cold could help achieve 14 of the 17 Global Goals; therefore, a focus on developing and expanding clean cold will help tackle major environmental challenges in modern life such meeting the demand for food, water, health, energy and climate change. It is only by resolving the cooling problem that economic and social progress will be achieved.