A new report from UNEP and FAO analyzes how the development of the food cold chain can become more sustainable and makes a series of important recommendations. Among them, governments and other cold chain stakeholders work together to take a systems approach and develop national cold action plans, backing up the plans with funding and targets, implementing and enforcing ambitious minimum efficiency standards.

It is estimated that 14% of food produced for human consumption is lost before reaching the table, while 17% is wasted. This is enough to feed around 1 billion people in a world where 811 million people currently go hungry and 3 billion cannot afford a healthy diet.

The lack of effective refrigeration is a major contributor to this challenge, causing the loss of 12% of total food production in 2017. In addition, the food cold chain is responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, including those from cold chain technologies and food losses and waste due to lack of refrigeration.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer can help mobilize and scale solutions for sustainable, efficient and environmentally sound cooling through the Kigali Amendment and the Rome Declaration.
Reducing non-CO2 emissions, including from refrigerants used in cold chain technologies, is critical to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, as highlighted in the latest Mitigation Report from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

Sustainable food cold chains can make an important difference, especially at a time when the international community must act to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.