Pathways to Prevent the Environmental Dumping of Climate-Harming Room Air Conditioners in Latin America & the Caribbean
Millions of people across Latin America & the Caribbean are being left behind with inefficient, outdated cooling equipment that's too expensive to run. Manufacturers have the know-how to produce better appliances but lack the incentives to manufacture and export them to the Global South.Ana Maria Carreño
Senior Director of Climate, CLASP
Making the Switch: The Deployment Handbook for Institutional eCookers
This report, “Making the Switch: The Deployment Handbook for Institutional eCookers,” conducted by Efficiency for Access in partnership with the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme, aims to inform practitioners seeking advice on the design, deployment, and operation of commercially available institutional eCooking technologies and provide actionable recommendations for scaling eCooking in institutions in Kenya. This guide covers commercially available institutional eCooking technologies designed for both on- and off-grid applications. It provides:
- An overview of the current state of eCooking in institutions in Kenya
- Step-by-step advice for the pre-assessment, planning, installation, and commissioning of eCooking solutions
- Opportunities to scale the adoption of institutional eCooking
Download “Making the Switch: The Deployment Handbook for Institutional eCookers” to access key findings, recommendations, and guidance on electric cookers in institutional settings.
About Efficiency for Access
Efficiency for Access is a global coalition dedicated to advancing access to energy and affordable, energy-efficient appliances in underserved communities. It is a catalyst for change, accelerating access to off- and weak-grid appliances that boost incomes, avoid carbon emissions, improve quality of life, and support sustainable development. The coalition is co-chaired by UK aid from the UK government via the Transforming Energy Access platform and the IKEA Foundation.
About the MECS programme
Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) is an eleven-year research programme funded by UK Aid (FCDO). MECS is a geographically diverse, multicultural, and transdisciplinary team working in close partnership with NGOs, governments, the private sector, academia, research institutes, policy representatives, and communities in 16 countries of interest to accelerate a transition from biomass to genuinely ‘clean’ cooking.
In seeking to spark a new approach to clean cooking, the MECS programme researches the socio-economic realities of a transition from polluting fuels to a range of modern fuels. Whilst the research covers several clean fuels, the evidence is pointing to the viability, cost-effectiveness, and user satisfaction that energy-efficient electric cooking devices provide. Significant progress has been made in access to electricity in the last decade, but these gains are sometimes disconnected from the enduring problem of clean cooking. By integrating modern energy cooking services into the planning for electricity access, quality, reliability and sustainability, MECS hopes to leverage investment in renewable energies (both grid and off-grid) to address the clean cooking challenge.
Pathways to Prevent Dumping of Climate Harming Room Air Conditioners in the Global South
Low-efficiency, climate-harming room air conditioners are common across the Global South. This is due largely to a practice known as environmental dumping, which raises costs for consumers, strains national electric grids, and jeopardizes climate mitigation targets.
What is environmental dumping?
When appliances that don’t meet the regulatory standards of the countries where they are manufactured are export to countries with lower or no standards, this is considered environmental dumping.
Environmental dumping of room air conditioners is a common practice, resulting in high volumes of low-efficiency, high-global-warming potential (GWP) room air conditioners in countries that lack stringent room AC standards and refrigerant regulations.
This occurs across the Global South, as research by CLASP and the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) has revealed. Studies from Africa (2020) and Southeast Asia (2023) have confirmed that low-efficiency, high-GWP cooling appliances are prevalent in both regions.
What are the impacts on people & planet?
As temperatures rise around the globe, the demand for cooling appliances is growing rapidly. The number of ACs in use is projected to grow from 1.6 billion units in 2023 to 5.6 billion in 2050, according to the IEA. Despite that, only 15% of the 3.5 billion people living in warm regions have air conditioning. Making cooling more accessible requires overcoming a key barrier: affordability.
The prevalence of low-efficiency room air conditioners in the Global South makes this more difficult to achieve, as these appliances cost consumers more to run.
Low-efficiency, high-GWP room air conditioners also strain electricity systems and lock countries into higher energy use and emissions, slowing progress toward national and global climate goals.
How can environmental dumping be prevented?
Ambitious national appliance efficiency policies are a powerful way to help markets shift toward next-generation technologies that lower electricity costs and cut CO₂ emissions. Complementary government action on obsolete refrigerants can further speed the transition to climate-friendly alternatives.
Still, no single country can tackle environmental dumping or the spread of outdated, high-emission products alone. Addressing these challenges requires shared responsibility and close collaboration among governments, industry, civil society, and international partners.
What is CLASP doing?
To further expand the knowledge base and understand the extent of environmental dumping globally, CLASP and IGSD have partnered with the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to research environmental dumping of room air conditioners across Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition to assessing the extent of environmental dumping, this upcoming research also highlights how it may contribute to cooling access and affordability challenges in the region, especially for vulnerable populations such as women and low-income households.
Doubling Energy Efficiency with Appliances
Appliance efficiency could provide roughly one fifth of the reduction in energy demand needed to meet a pivotal climate commitment, according to CLASP’s analysis “Doubling Energy Efficiency with Appliances: How governments can leverage appliances to reach climate targets”. With nearly 110 countries pledging at COP28 to double annual energy efficiency improvements by 2030, more ambitious appliance policies are critical to reaching this goal before the narrow window for net zero by mid-century closes.
Key Findings
- To get on track for net zero emissions by mid-century, the average global annual rate of improvement in energy intensity must double to at least 4% by 2030. Appliance efficiency can deliver approximately 20% of the total reduction in energy demand required to meet this goal.
- Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia have recently taken significant steps to integrate appliance efficiency into their national strategies, recognizing its critical role in achieving energy and climate goals.
Recommendations
- Policymakers must rapidly implement stringent minimum efficiency standards for appliances, ensuring that they meet or exceed the best standards currently in place. Countries with world-leading standards should increase them further to reflect the levels of today’s best available technologies.
- Governments need to embed clear, measurable appliance efficiency targets into their national climate goals. They must also track progress with standardized metrics to stay on course to meet the doubling efficiency goal.
- All stakeholders across government, industry, and civil society must strengthen international and cross-sectoral collaboration to accelerate global energy efficiency gains. This cost-effective approach includes sharing technical expertise, conducting joint market surveillance, and harmonizing standards to overcome common barriers.
The Missing Piece of Energy Access: Why 15% of Energy Infrastructure Investment Must Go to Appliances
Globally, hundreds of millions of people lack electricity. Most solutions focus on extending power supply infrastructure, but in marginalized areas, low electricity demand makes the expense of such infrastructure hard to justify. Increasing the use of energy-efficient appliances in these areas can attract electricity supply investments while delivering climate benefits. Achieving sufficient levels of appliance use to meet these goals would require allocating 15% of supply-side investments, or $38 billion USD, toward demand growth between now and 2030. The funding should focus largely on improving appliance affordability.
Key Findings
- Energy-efficient appliances are essential energy infrastructure, critical for achieving universal energy access and meeting climate mitigation and adaptation goals.
- Bringing modern energy to the 666 million people who lack it (most of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa) requires expanding power infrastructure to places with low electricity consumption.
- Increasing appliance access across Africa could generate demand for 342 terawatt hours of electricity annually, creating a market worth approximately $50 billion USD that would catalyze accelerated power infrastructure development.
- Focusing on expanding markets for energy-efficient appliances (as opposed to standard, less-efficient appliances) would provide many benefits, including avoiding an estimated 2.6 gigatons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually.
Recommendations
- The IEA estimates that at least $50 billion USD of public investment annually is needed until 2030 to achieve universal energy access. CLASP analysis shows that 10–15% of this amount—about $7.5 billion USD annually, or $38 billion USD in total—should be devoted to improving appliance access.
- Relevant decisionmakers should allocate 10–15% of power supply-side investments toward establishing sustainable electricity demand growth.
- Public institutions should target investments to overcoming market failures that limit appliance use—in particular, a lack of affordability and consumer confidence.
- All stakeholders should prioritize energy-efficient appliances over standard, less-efficient appliances.
Recent News
Energy Appliances for the Rwandan Humanitarian Context: Stakeholder Mapping and Consumer Insights
This research, conducted by CLASP, Efficiency for Access, Practical Action and Verasol, shows why appliances designed for off-grid use are important in Rwanda’s humanitarian context. Electrical appliances improve people’s livelihoods and enhance their overall well-being through clean cooking, lighting, and improved access to education, and economic opportunities.
The report explores three key considerations for procuring appliances in the Rwandan humanitarian context:
- Appliance categorization by sector (household, business, and community use), highlighting how different users prioritize parameters such as energy efficiency, affordability, and ease of repair
- Procurement challenges unique to refugee contexts, including financing barriers, supply chain constraints, and the tension between short-term affordability and long-term sustainability
- Policy and practical considerations associated with Rwanda’s e-waste regulations and the logistical hurdles of distributing and maintaining appliances in camp environments
Closing Rwanda’s refugee energy gap requires appliances that are affordable, durable, and aligned with user needs—backed by smart financing, policy, and cross-sector collaboration.
Explore “Energy Appliances for the Rwandan Humanitarian Context: Stakeholder Mapping and Consumer Insights” for more findings.
About Efficiency for Access
Efficiency for Access is a global coalition dedicated to advancing access to energy and affordable, energy efficient appliances. It is co-managed by CLASP and Energy Saving Trust.
The Procurement Handbook for Off- and Weak-Grid Appliances
This Efficiency for Access research provides practical procurement guidelines for energy appliances suitable for off- and weak-grid communities. In the face of rapid global changes and growing demand for sustainable energy solutions, the need for reliable access to clean energy has never been more urgent. This is especially true for off-grid communities and in humanitarian settings, where access to energy can be a critical lifeline. In these contexts, high-quality energy appliances are not just a matter of performance—they are essential for health, safety, and resilience.
But here’s the problem: when procurement lacks clear guidelines, poor-quality appliances fail early. Money gets wasted, and essential services collapse. That is why Efficiency for Access has created this guide. These are practical procurement guidelines for energy appliances suitable for off- and weak-grid environments.
It is intended to support procurement officers and intervention implementers by providing clear, actionable guidance on how to set appropriate quality requirements for procurement tenders and select appliances that are durable, energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable over time. Explore “The Procurement Handbook for Off- and Weak-Grid Appliances” for more findings.
About Efficiency for Access
Efficiency for Access is a global coalition dedicated to advancing access to energy and affordable, energy efficient appliances. It is co-managed by CLASP and Energy Saving Trust.
Ceiling Fan Market Transformation in India
Ceiling fans are among the most ubiquitous appliances in Indian homes, with over 90% of households relying on them as the primary source of cooling, especially in low-income and rural areas. They account for approximately 40% of residential electricity consumption. However, about 97% of these fans are not energy efficient, resulting in higher electricity consumption, increased household energy bills, and elevated emissions associated with cooling.
Within market transformation, bulk procurement programs are powerful tools for transforming markets by accelerating the availability, adoption, and affordability of energy-efficient technologies. This report analyzes a case study of a bulk procurement program in India’s ceiling fan sector, focusing on its outcomes, successes, and lessons learnt.
International Benchmarking Analysis of Air Source Heat Pump and Chiller Standards
This report presents a technical assessment of testing methods, energy efficiency metrics, and minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for air-to-water heat pumps and chillers in cooling mode across China, the European Union (EU), and the United States (US). These regions represent the largest markets for heat pump technologies, each employing distinct testing protocols, metrics, and requirements.
The analyses offer insights into how Chinese, EU, and US standards align or diverge, how performance comparisons can be made across energy efficiency standards, and where opportunities for international standard alignment exist.
Key findings:
- The US energy efficiency metric approximates 114% of China’s metric, while the EU’s metric differs by ±3% compared to China’s.
- China’s revised MEPS matches or exceeds EU and US efficiency benchmarks for low-capacity units.
- Requirements for high-capacity products in China still show room for improvement.
Medical Appliances for Resource-Constrained Settings
With this research, CLASP and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) highlight the urgent need to improve the performance, procurement and deployment of medical appliances in healthcare facilities operating in weak- and off-grid settings. The report uncovers how energy-intensive, poorly matched, and under-maintained medical devices are contributing to poor health outcomes and increasing operational strain in low-resource environments.
Drawing on real-world data from 29 healthcare facilities in Kisumu County, Kenya, the report presents insights from on-site testing, remote energy monitoring, and interviews with frontline healthcare workers and system stakeholders.
The study identifies practical solutions for more effective healthcare electrification from integrating energy efficiency into procurement policies, to establishing minimum energy performance standards and investing in local innovation. It emphasizes the importance of designing systems that match real-world usage patterns, reduce operational costs and strengthen the long-term sustainability of electrification investments.
Explore “Medical Appliances for Resource-Constrained Settings ” for more findings.
This research was supported by Efficiency for Access, Ikea Foundation, and Transforming Energy Access.
About Efficiency for Access
Efficiency for Access is a global coalition dedicated to advancing access to energy and affordable, energy efficient appliances. It is co-managed by CLASP and Energy Saving Trust.