As climate change continues to drive temperatures higher, threatening health and livelihoods, air conditioners remain out of reach for millions of people around the world. In Latin America and the Caribbean, only 15% of households in the warmest areas own ACs.

Increasing access to air conditioners is part of the solution. But to avoid further worsening climate change, it’s critical for these ACs to be energy efficient and use climate-friendly refrigerants. This is because inefficient units drive up energy demand and increase planet-warming emissions, while some refrigerants are potent greenhouse gases thousands of times more harmful than CO₂.

Energy efficiency can also help address one of the main barriers that’s preventing many people from owning an air conditioner: affordability. The high upfront cost of these appliances puts them out of reach for many households. Additionally, inefficient models can be expensive to run, driving up electricity bills. Improving energy efficiency can help lower operating costs and make cooling more affordable overall.

As demand for ACs is rising in Latin America and the Caribbean, putting the right policies in place will protect both people and planet. Brazil’s example shows how it’s done.

The policies that transformed Brazil’s market

Today, Brazil has the most efficient room air conditioner market in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than half of units sold there meet or exceed leading global efficiency standards.

Just a few years ago, the picture looked very different. Brazil’s appliance efficiency labeling program, first introduced in 1984, is one of the oldest in the world. But until recently, it offered little real guidance to consumers looking for ACs, since it had only two categories and labeled around 70% of all air conditioners as “efficient.”

Washington, DC, 25 February 2026 — As temperatures rise and demand for air conditioning accelerates, new research reveals that nearly 70 million people across Latin America and the Caribbean exposed to rising heat risks lack efficient cooling appliances.

Despite the region’s growing need for sustainable cooling, only 15% of households own an air conditioner, leaving millions vulnerable to extreme heat. For many families, the affordability of purchasing and operating an air conditioner remains a key barrier to sustainable cooling access. Consequently, the lack of access to adequate cooling along with rising temperatures severely affects human health.

A new report from CLASP and the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) finds that these challenges are compounded by environmental dumping—the export of low-efficiency, climate-harming cooling equipment that does not meet existing standards in its country of origin.

Environmental dumping raises household energy bills, increases greenhouse gas emissions, and threatens to lock the region into decades of low-efficiency and polluting cooling infrastructure.

• The research, which focused on Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Mexico, and Uruguay, finds:
• 44% of all new air conditioners sold in Latin America and the Caribbean are categorized as environmental dumping, which means they cannot be legally sold in the countries where they are manufactured.
• More than one-third of new room air conditioners sold in the region use obsolete refrigerants, which are currently phased down or phased out under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and its Kigali Amendment.
• Existing cooling access gaps disproportionately affect low-income households and women, and the influx of outdated equipment deepens energy inequality and increases emissions.
• Without stronger efficiency and refrigerant standards, the region could lock in 173 million tons of CO₂e by 2050, emissions equivalent to more than three coal-fired power plants over the next 20 years.

Despite these challenges, the report highlights clear positive pathways for action. Brazil and Grenada are emerging as regional leaders by adopting modern efficiency standards and climate-friendly refrigerant policies and initiatives that protect consumers and close the door to environmental dumping.

While strong national efficiency policies are among the most effective ways for countries to protect themselves from environmental dumping, solutions ultimately require shared responsibility and close collaboration between importing- and exporting-country governments, the private sector, civil society, and international partners.

As extreme heat becomes a defining risk, access to efficient and climate-friendly cooling appliances is no longer optional; it is essential,” said Martina Otto, Head of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat. “This year marks ten years since the adoption of the Kigali Amendment, a decade that has demonstrated how effective international partnerships can drive meaningful action. By acting together now, importing and exporting countries have a clear opportunity to shape markets, protect communities, and steer the inevitable growth in cooling toward solutions that advance climate justice while delivering economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Environmental dumping is an equity issue. As our research shows, millions of people across Latin America and the Caribbean are being left behind with inefficient, outdated cooling equipment that costs too much money to run. Manufacturers have the know-how to produce better appliances but are lacking the right incentives to manufacture and export them to Latin America and other regions in the Global South. This undermines people’s ability to stay safe in a warming world and deepens existing inequalities. —Ana Maria Carreño, Senior Director of Climate at CLASP

We must pursue innovative business models that do not export energy poverty and other burdens of obsolete cooling technologies to vulnerable countries in the Global South. Multilateral platforms, South-South cooperation, and collaborative government-industry partnerships can help. In this way, these countries can leapfrog to becoming innovation hubs for next-generation cooling solutions that support clean air, climate resilience, and prosperity. —Tad Ferris, Senior Counsel at IGSD

For inquiries, please reach out to Marina Baur, Senior Communication Associate, CLASP at mbaur@clasp.ngo.