Air conditioners are bad for the environment according to a study conducted by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (NEAA). The damage is in the refrigeration cycle part of the process, as a dangerous substance is used in the cooling system.

The demand for air conditioning has risen three to four times more than predicted, especially in China and India. While three percent of all global warming can currently be attributed to air conditioning, experts predict that figure will be 50 percent by 2050. NEAA researcher Guus Velders says the prognosis is alarming and is urging the manufacturing industries to use less harmful chemicals in the production of cooling substances.

The NEAA (or Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving) is a national institute for strategic policy analysis in the areas of environment, nature and spacial planning. The results of the research on air conditioning will appear today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a highly respected US scientific publication.