Cooling for food, nutrition and agriculture

The document highlights that 13% of all food production is lost due to a lack of cold chains, amounting to 526 million tonnes annually. This deficiency disproportionately affects low-income countries, with Asia holding the highest share of food loss at 48%. The report argues that expanding sustainable cooling can reduce food losses by 55% and cold chain emissions by 55%, while improving incomes for smallholder farmers. It identifies 54 high-impact countries, noting that while China and India have the highest volumes of loss, several African nations exhibit the highest energy inefficiency in food production. Proposed solutions include National Cooling Action Plans, Cooling as a Service (CaaS) models, and Community Cooling Hubs.

• A lack of cold chain infrastructure results in the loss of 526 million tonnes of food annually, which is 13% of all food production and could potentially feed 950 million people.
• Food loss and waste have significant economic and environmental costs, with annual costs estimated at nearly USD 1 trillion and greenhouse gas emissions exceeding 3 billion tonnes.
• Global food loss is primarily concentrated in Asia, South America, and Africa, with Asia accounting for the largest share at 48%.
• Among 54 high-impact countries for cooling access, China and India experience the highest volumes of perishable food loss, with China accounting for more than 50% of these losses.
• African countries demonstrate significant energy inefficiency in food production; eight of the ten most energy-inefficient high-impact countries are located in Africa.
• Implementing cooling efficiency improvements, sustainable energy technology, and Kigali-compliant refrigerants could reduce current food losses and cold chain emissions by 55% each.
• Addressing sustainable cold chain gaps presents a USD 270 billion investment opportunity in infrastructure and efficiency, which can be supported by models like Cooling as a Service (CaaS) and Community Cooling Hubs.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2022). Cooling for food, nutrition and agriculture. https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2022/food-nutrition-and-agriculture#:~:text=Solutions%20for%20food%2C%20nutrition%20and%20agriculture,-The%20lack%20of&text=These%20could%20include%20specific%20agricultural,through%20an%20integrated%20energy%20plan.

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. Cooling for food, nutrition and agriculture. 2022. https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2022/food-nutrition-and-agriculture#:~:text=Solutions%20for%20food%2C%20nutrition%20and%20agriculture,-The%20lack%20of&text=These%20could%20include%20specific%20agricultural,through%20an%20integrated%20energy%20plan.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=Cooling for food, nutrition and agriculture |date=2022 |url=https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2022/food-nutrition-and-agriculture#:~:text=Solutions%20for%20food%2C%20nutrition%20and%20agriculture,-The%20lack%20of&text=These%20could%20include%20specific%20agricultural,through%20an%20integrated%20energy%20plan. |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2022cooling, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{Cooling for food, nutrition and agriculture}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2022}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2022/food-nutrition-and-agriculture#:~:text=Solutions%20for%20food%2C%20nutrition%20and%20agriculture,-The%20lack%20of&text=These%20could%20include%20specific%20agricultural,through%20an%20integrated%20energy%20plan.}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }