Heat stress is a growing concern affecting health and well-being of populations worldwide. Air-conditioning (AC) can provide relief from high temperatures, but can entail high electricity demand and emissions. Future access to basic cooling is not only key for heat stress adaptation, but it also has important linkages with climate change mitigation and sustainable development goals.
We assess the evolution of the global residential “cooling gap” -the extent of population lacking access to basic cooling where needed -for the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways SSP1-3, and estimate minimum energy required for bridging this gap for the global South.