Conclusion: ‘The Future Is Already Here’

Abstract

This book has set out to explore existing air-conditioning consumption patterns and practices in Southeast Asia, with a view from Metro Manila to other mega-cities in the region. The general outlook appears bleak: total air-conditioning consumption will no doubt increase massively in Southeast Asia, in relation to population growth, increases in affluence and rampant urbanization. Climate change is both a consequence of and a catalyst for increased air-conditioning consumption: as the world becomes a hotter place, more people in the hottest regions of the world will turn to air-conditioning; in turn, the use of fossil-powered energy for electricity will continue to contribute to carbon emissions, with a global impact on the climate. While no silver bullet solution exists to curb the use of electricity for artificially cooled air, there are silver linings. As one interviewer so nicely put it, ‘The future is already here, I have seen it already.’¹ Some of the possible solutions towards curbing air-conditioning consumption patterns and shifting practices towards passive cooling are already available, as discussed in this conclusion.