Keeping homes cool when the planet heats up – On the Green Fence

Episode 2: Keeping homes cool when the planet heats up

With heat waves expected to strike more often, air conditioners might seem like an obvious solution. But these devices guzzle power – and the more we use them, the more we contribute to global heating.

The International Energy Agency predicts that energy demand from air conditioners will triple by 2050. So how do we break that cycle?

Interviewees featured in this episode:

Lily Riahi, program manager at the UN Environment Program and coordinator for the Cool Coalition
Bijal Brahmbhatt, civil engineer and director of Mahila Housing SEWA Trust in India
Sarah El Battouty, architect and founder of ECOnsult in Egypt, non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute

On the Green Fence is produced by DW studios in Bonn, Germany.

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Chapters:

00:00 Intro
02:30 Lily Riahi lays out what’s at stake
03:35 The CO2 footprint of air conditioning
05:00 What’s being done about the problem?
06:48 What are the solutions?
08:16 Painting roofs white in India
10:42 An explosion in demand for ACs
12:05 Energy blackouts in Vietnam
14:19 Rethinking our building structures
14:57 Sarah El Battouty says Egypt is in a vicious cycle
15:31 How are communities preparing for worse heat?
17:01 How big is the challenge for architects?
18:27 Upgrading homes in rural Egypt
19:38 Examples of Indigenous knowledge about building
21:06 A 10 degree Celsius drop in indoor temperature
23:00 Neil signs off