S2 S1 Residential airconditioning in China Energy and environmental impacts associated with the building sector in China are significant, representing nearly 16% of total global final energy consumption in buildings 1. In 2016, Chinese building sector consumed 899 million ton of coal equivalent (Mtce), accounting for 20.6% of Chinese annual energy consumption around all sectors 2. Energy demand for space cooling in Chinese building sector is rising rapidly, placing strains on the electricity system and contributing to local air pollution and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The energy consumption for space cooling increased by a factor of 5.4 from 2001 to 2011 3. In addition, in 2018, under the background of consumption upgrade and industrial structure upgrade in China, the retail volume of air conditioner (AC) market was 57 million units, an increase of 1.6% yearon-year. The total production number, export volume, domestic retail volume of Chinese room AC market from 2003 to 2017 is shown in Figure S1. The annual sales volume of ACs have grown steadily, from 20 million in 2003 to 88 million in 2017, an increase by more than four times.
The electricity demand for space cooling in the non-residential building (NRB) sector of China is growing significantly and is becoming increasingly critical with rapid economic development and mounting impacts of climate change. The growing demand for space cooling will increase global warming due to emissions of hydrofluorocarbons used in cooling equipment and carbon dioxide emissions from the mostly fossil fuel-based electricity currently powering space cooling. This study uses the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interaction and Synergies (GAINS) model framework to estimate current and future emissions of hydrofluorocarbons and their abatement potentials for space cooling in the NRB sector of China and assess the co-benefits in the form of savings in electricity and associated reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG), air pollution, and short-lived climate pollutant emissions. Co-benefits of space cooling are assessed by taking into account (a) regional and urban/rural heterogeneities and climatic zones among different provinces; (b) technical/economic energy efficiency improvements of the cooling technologies; and (c) transition towards lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants under the Kigali Amendment. Under the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, the total energy consumption for space cooling in the NRB sector will increase from 166 TWh in 2015 to 564 TWh in 2050, primarily due to the rapid increase in the floor space area of non-residential buildings. The total GHG mitigation potential due to the transition towards low-GWP refrigerants and technical energy efficiency improvement of cooling technologies will approximately be equal to 10% of the total carbon emissions from the building sector of China in 2050.
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