Paris – The UNEP OzoneAction and Global Food Cold Chain Council are working with six countries to develop a database to help developing countries to identify their cold chain baseline. The UN is looking to help countries meet global sustainable development goals by 2030.
Food production, transport and storage is responsible for more than one-third of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, and in 2015 this was estimated to be 18bn tonne of CO2. The organisations say that if food production were a country, it would be the world's third-largest emitter of CO2.
The UN plan is to measure the contribution that the cold chain, or lack of one, makes to food loss or waste in different countries. It will help to understand how complex the sector is in terms of models: are they tailor-made or off-the-shelf units?
The aim of the survey will be to understand the challenges and gaps in the cold chain, and help countries develop strategies to fill the gaps, cut waste and eliminate emissions.
A more efficient cold chain will mean less waste, and therefore less land will be needed for agriculture. There should also be a reduction in wastewater and lower CO2 emissions. Additionally, it will be possible to change to lower GWP refrigerants and blowing agents for foams, the partners said.
The database approach is being tested out in Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Maldives, North Macedonia, Paraguay and Senegal. Ozone action and the GFCC are working with agricultural, food and environmental authorities, industry and trade, energy and cold chain associations. The programme should be complete within 18 months.