R744 refrigeration as an alternative for the supermarket sector in small tropical island developing states: The case of Mauritius

•R744 commercial refrigeration for tropical small island developing states.•Energy consumption and environmental impact of different R744 configurations.•Implications of a shift towards CO2 for Article 5 countries. The implications of HCFC phase out and coming restrictions on HFCs on the energy efficiency of refrigeration systems for Article 5 countries have to be examined if the issues of global warming and ozone depletion are to be addressed. While the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol is seen as a driving force for the phase out of HFCs, only the low GWP argument cannot be considered as a determining factor for Small Island Developing States (SIDs) with high reliability on imported fossil fuels for their electricity generation. While CO2 has emerged as a promising refrigerant for the supermarket sector, the shift for such alternative technologies represents a tremendous leap forward for SIDs. The paper discusses the implications of a shift towards CO2 through an energy analysis of the proposed alternatives and their implementation is discussed with special focus on the unique socio-economic context of SIDs.