Cooling at COP26: What did and didn’t happen?

With COP26 now behind us, we wanted to take a step back and look at what cooling commitments were (and weren’t) made and what these announcements mean for the cooling industry and climate action in general.

A lot of pressure was placed on this year’s COP, and rightly so. Pre-COP commitments – as included in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – had set us on a path to a global temperature rise of 2.7°C by the end of the century, which is well over the internationally-agreed limit of 1.5°C and will result in catastrophic impacts around the world. In order to ensure that we put ourselves on the right track, we needed to see greater ambition from countries, cities, businesses, and other stakeholders.

Ahead of COP26, we set out a somewhat ambitious (albeit reasonable) ‘to do’ list for cooling stakeholders, which detailed what commitments we hoped to see being made at the conference in Glasgow. Desired actions included adopting more stringent minimum energy performance standards (MEPS); ratifying the Kigali Amendment; developing cooling action plans (national and local); doubling down on the energy efficiency of buildings and products; adopting better urban planning; joining the Race to Zero; and boosting investment in research and development, as well as cooling initiatives.

With this year’s COP now behind us, what commitments were made, what is missing, and what does it mean for both the cooling community and the world as a whole?

Cooling at (and around) COP26

The two weeks of COP26 went by in a flash. Each day came with new commitments that covered a range of topics, including deforestation, methane emissions, finance, and coal to name a few. In addition to these advances, the Glasgow Climate Pact also includes plans to revisit emissions-cutting pledges (e.g. NDCs or national long-term strategies) next year to try to keep the 1.5°C target reachable.

A number of cooling-specific announcements were made throughout the conference. And while they may not have made the frontpages, they mark significant progress in our fight against climate change.

At the national level:

  • 14 SEAD (Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment) Initiative member countries – Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Denmark, Germany, Ghana, India, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, Sweden, United Kingdom, Indonesia, and South Korea – have signed up to the initiative’s Product Efficiency Call to Action. This is the largest ever government commitment to double product efficiency globally by 2030, with a focus on air conditioners, refrigerators, motors, and lighting (which account for 40% of global electricity demand).
  • The UK Government committed £12 million ($16 million) to support rapid progress on reducing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and for the adoption of energy efficient cooling solutions. They also launched their Urban Climate Action Programme, which will support cities and regions in developing countries to decarbonize.
  • France launched a leadership guide on efficient, climate-friendly cooling, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme’s Cool Coalition and Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
  • A new Champions Group on Adaptation Finance – launched by Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the UK, and Finland at the UN General Assembly in September – has expressed clear political commitment to work with developing countries to increase levels of adaptation finance. Through this work, these six governments have pledged to increase the total share of climate finance spent on adaptation and resilience, particularly for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Initiatives like this will mobilize resources to help tackle extreme heat.

At the city level:

  • The Cool Coalition, in partnership with RMI, the Global Covenant of Mayors, Mission Innovation, and the Clean Cooling Collaborative launched its Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities. So far 16 cities have committed to use the handbook.
  • Seville, Spain announced plans to name and rank heat waves.
  • Athens, Greece announced plans to categorize heat waves from summer 2022.
  • Miami-Dade County in the United States announced plans to declare a ‘heat season’ (May 1 until October 31) from 2022, offering shelter space and focusing on vulnerable populations. They will also offer an extreme heat toolkit, run public awareness campaigns, and include heat as a key part of the county’s disaster planning
  • Over 1,049 cities have committed to the Race to Zero. This represents some 722 million people and 1.4 gigatons of CO2 each year. Most cities’ commitments include creating resilient and renewable energy systems, developing net-zero carbon buildings, and making food systems more sustainable – all of which would require action on cooling.

From the private sector:

COP26 also provided a stage for this year’s Ashden Awards, where Mahila Housing SEWA Trust won the award for Cooling in Informal Settlements (sponsored by ourselves and ClimateWorks Foundation) and Solar Freeze Ltd won the award for Humanitarian Energy.

A number of other cooling commitments were made in the run up to COP26, setting the stage nicely for others to take similar steps. Highlights include committing to bring super-efficient air conditioners to market, developing national cooling action plans, mapping pathways to sustainable cooling, and committing sizable amounts of funding to support clean cooling globally. The Cool Coalition’s Cooling Commitments Compass (see below) gives an overview of recent announcements and updates from around the world of cooling.

 

Moving beyond COP26: what next?

Looking over the list of recent pledges, we are encouraged and optimistic that we’re on the right path, but we can’t stop there. More ambitious commitments and timely action is needed to secure the change necessary to reduce cooling’s climate impact and limit global warming to 1.5°C. So what do we want to see in 2022?

One major opportunity is for governments to commit to efficient, climate-friendly cooling in their revised NDCs or long-term strategies in 2022 as part of the Glasgow Climate Pact’s agreement to ‘revisit emissions-cutting plans next year’. By adopting clean cooling solutions, governments can simultaneously cut greenhouse gas emissions and help build resilience to our changing climate. Efficient, climate-friendly cooling’s mitigation and adaptation potential should not be underestimated. One action that could (and should) be included in a government’s strategy is to develop and implement a national cooling action plan, which can be done using the National Cooling Action Plan Methodology from the Cool Coalition and partners.

Another priority is for national governments to double down on improving the energy efficiency of cooling systems by committing to SEAD Initiative’s Product Efficiency Call to Action. It’s promising to see governments from some key cooling countries (e.g. India and Indonesia) having already endorsed the initiative, while other nations (e.g. the US, China, and the EU) are yet to demonstrate their commitment. We’re calling on all G20 members to have answered SEAD’s call to action by COP27 in Egypt. Other stakeholders can take similar action through joining EP100.

In support of national action (or absence thereof), cities and regions can show leadership in this sphere by using the guidance set out in the Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities to help cut emissions and build resilience. They can also join international action networks like the Race to Zero and Cool Coalition. Similarly, cities can follow Seville, Athens, Miami, and Freetown in their efforts to raise awareness of and protect residents from the dangers of extreme heat.

A major component of unlocking future progress is finance. Funding the clean cooling transition will require sizable investment from public, private, and philanthropic sources. The recent financial commitment from the Green Climate Fund (via the World Bank) is a great starting point, and demonstrates the importance of funding for efficient, climate-friendly cooling. To draw further attention to the need for more finance, the Cool Coalition is aiming to form a Working Group on Finance among their members in 2022, building on the Multilateral Development Bank Working Group that was co-convened with E3G and bank champions  in 2021.

The key message we want to deliver is one of optimism. We are encouraged by the announcements made at COP26 and to see the range of stakeholders that are taking action to support the global transition to efficient, climate-friendly cooling. Unfortunately, the commitments being made aren’t enough to ensure net-zero cooling by 2050. We need to go further and go faster. We need all stakeholders – particularly those in regions where cooling demand and emissions are on a steep growth trajectory i.e., the US, China, India, and Southeast Asia – to make and follow through on ambitious commitments. We need to double down on the energy efficiency of cooling systems; we need to transition to refrigerants with ultra-low global warming potential; and we need to adopt passive cooling techniques that reduce the need for mechanical cooling (while also building resilience to heat). To protect people and the planet, we need action now.

Leave no one behind: Efficient, climate-friendly cooling for ALL

‘Leave no one behind’ is the central promise of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yet billions of people lack access to efficient, climate-friendly cooling. We simply cannot achieve the SDGs, be it poverty reduction, zero hunger, better health and wellbeing, sustainable cities, or climate action, without securing universal access to clean cooling. Social inequity is a significant barrier to cooling access, with marginalized and low-income communities being both the most vulnerable to extreme heat and the least likely to be able to access thermal comfort. This needs to change, but how?

“It was getting hotter,” the novel begins. “…It felt dangerous even to talk, one would overheat. And what was there to say anyway? It was too hot to think.”

In his 2020 sci-fi novel Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson opens with a harrowing account of a deadly, extreme heat wave that strikes India in the near future. It is hard to read. And it becomes even more excruciating when you realize what reads like science fiction is radically becoming a present-day reality for many.

The inequities of cooling access

Over 1 billion people across our warming world experience the worst impacts of extreme heat due to lack of access to cooling. In Bangladesh, the ongoing climate crisis has led to the displacement of millions of people, many of whom often end up in the slums of over-crowded cities, where informal housing structures are typically assembled from high heat-absorbing materials like corrugated tin or iron. In Kenya, Nairobi’s informal settlements have seen temperatures that were up to 4.8°C warmer than the city’s official weather station nearby. And this is not just an issue in developing countries; in the United States, intensified extreme heat waves disproportionately affect low-income, BIPOC communities, and other marginalized groups. According to a recent story in Time, in the U.S., how you experience the heat “depends on your race and your zip code”.

As we race to curb the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the cooling sector, it is important that we also address the cooling access gap and build resilience to protect the most vulnerable from rising temperatures.

Making ‘cooling for all’ a reality

Earlier this week at the Cooler Homes, Stronger Communities COP26 side event, we heard from frontline innovators such as Mahila Housing Trust about how grassroot groups and local organizations are delivering cooling equity through championing passive cooling solutions from the ground up. Echoing this bottom-up approach are the ten teams of the Million Cool Roofs Challenge (MCR), which are delivering solar reflective “cool” roofs as a key passive cooling solution in countries where there is an acute lack of access to cooling. In Cote D’Ivoire, two social enterprises – Social Tech and MonArtisan – tapped into the strength of their own communities to unlock the benefits of cool roofs. The team mobilized schools and the surrounding communities to recycle plastic waste and sell it on to recyclers, thereby generating the funds to deploy cool roofing in their communities. In Kenya, MCR finalist Steam Plant Ltd focused on installing cool roofs in two major informal settlements in Nairobi, improving learning, working, and living conditions for over 7,800 inhabitants.

And we firmly believe that grassroot climate heroes should not be fighting this fight alone. We need cooling equity champions from governments, businesses, and organizations small and large to join force. In addition to scaling up localized, low-cost passive cooling solutions, multiple strategies should be applied to bridge the cooling access gap:

  • Improving the energy efficiency of low-cost cooling appliances such as fans, through higher efficiency standards to cut operational expenses for low-income households and thereby making thermal comfort more accessible.
  • Introducing consumer-targeted financial incentives such as on-bill financing and rebate programs, to enable low-income communities to access to a range of efficient, climate-friendly mechanical cooling appliances, which often require a higher upfront cost compared to inefficient and polluting models.
  • Providing financial assistance for operational costs of cooling e.g., energy bills. We need to look beyond just the delivery of efficient and clean cooling products to also help low-income households address challenges they face during the operation phase.
  • Developing city-wide sustainable cooling action plans, including equitable infrastructure development (e.g., green space) and initiatives that protect vulnerable populations during times of extreme heat (e.g., cooling centers).
  • Utilizing more passive cooling techniques such as reflective building materials, increased greenspace, and improved shading and ventilation, to reduce households’ reliance on more costly mechanical cooling.
  • Addressing the cooling needs of at-risk communities across thermal comfort, food security, and health services to bring forth a comprehensive range of sustainable cooling solutions.

In this collective mission to enhance cooling equity, it is not only what we do that matters but also how we do it. As the key stakeholder in this equation, we must ensure that the voices and ideas of local communities are heard throughout the whole process. Governments, international organizations, and sustainable cooling businesses must work alongside frontline communities to build solutions with those who are most impacted, not for them.

If we’re to ensure efficient-climate-friendly cooling for all, as required for the achievement of several climate and development goals, then we must address the issue of social equity. Without cooling equity, many, many people will be left behind.

Cooler cities, cooler people, cooler planet: The ‘triple win’ of sustainable urban cooling

Cities are at the forefront of the climate crisis; they’re heating up at twice the average global rate and they’re a major source of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are warming our planet. How can sustainable urban cooling solutions help local governments protect cities and their residents from rapidly rising temperatures while also limiting further global warming?

As global temperatures rise, our cities are heating up at twice the average rate due to the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon by which human activities and the make-up of a city (e.g. high usage of concrete, steel, and glass, as well as diminished greenspace) create and capture heat, keeping temperatures high long after the sun’s gone down. By 2100, cities across the world could warm by as much as 4.4°C on average, which could be catastrophic for the health, wellbeing, security, and economic productivity of their residents. Even with 1.5°C of warming, 2.3 billion people could be exposed and vulnerable to extreme heat events. 

The need for increased access to cooling to avoid extreme heat in our cities is undeniable, and doing nothing is not an option. Unfortunately, conventional cooling solutions like air conditioners are typically energy-intensive and use refrigerants with a high global warming potential (GWP), compounding the problem further by producing the GHGs that are heating up the planet. 

Cities, with all their inhabitants, buildings, and infrastructure, are already responsible for more than 70% of the world’s global carbon emissions[1] Net Zero Carbon Cities: An Integrated Approach, World Economic Forum (2021) . Cooling appliances, such as air conditioners, are key drivers of emissions, with up to 10% of demand for electricity in cities used to compensate for the urban heat island effect. If we’re to have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, then cities need to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Clearly, continuing to cool our cities as we currently do is not an option. 

So how can we keep our cities cool in a way that doesn’t exacerbate the climate crisis? 

Sustainable urban cooling

Sustainable cooling solutions – i.e. solutions that are super-efficient, climate-friendly, and utilize low- or zero-carbon electricity – are essential if we’re to meet our climate and development goals, simultaneously. 

Solutions to avoid dangerous heat include urban green and blue infrastructure (e.g. tree cover and waterways), which can reduce ambient temperatures by multiple degrees; better building design (e.g. shading, better building envelopes, ventilation, and reflective materials) that can reduce the need for mechanical air conditioning; district cooling, because it can efficiently cool a large network of buildings; and cooling centers, which can provide much-needed thermal comfort and safety to vulnerable populations during times of extreme heat. 

And it’s not simply a case of improving the environmental performance of our cities’ cooling, it’s also about ensuring that access to cooling is equitable and reliable. More often than not, the impacts of urban heat are not evenly distributed, with lower-income and marginalized communities being both the most vulnerable and the least likely to be able to afford or access thermal comfort. For those with access to mechanical cooling, reliability of power supply can be compromised by high demand during heat waves leading to blackouts and knock-on effects on health, livelihoods, supply chains, and stability.

What we need is an integrated, whole-systems approach to accelerate the transition to sustainable urban cooling for all, and to ensure that potential benefits are maximized. In doing so, we can work to reduce temperatures at the city-level, reduce cooling demand at the building level through passive design and cool materials, and ensure that any remaining demand for mechanized cooling is met using efficient, climate-friendly technologies (e.g. super-efficient air conditioners that use ultra-low GWP refrigerants).

Supporting cities’ transition to sustainable cooling for all

Local governments looking to make their cities cooler, healthier, and more liveable are faced with a wide variety of options, so knowing how and where to start can be an overwhelming task. Luckily, there is a lot of information and support available to help cities transition to sustainable cooling for all.

The new Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities from the UN Environment Programme’s Cool Coalition, RMI, the Global Covenant of Mayors, Mission Innovation, and the Clean Cooling Collaborative, with support from WWF Cities, provides a framework for implementing sustainable cooling and extreme heat strategies at the city or district level for both developing and developed countries. In addition to recommending the development of a holistic, citywide cooling action plan, the guide showcases several interventions that can be implemented by city governments:

  • Developing heat-resilient urban design and infrastructure via urban planning, nature-based solutions, and cool surfaces can cut the urban heat island effect and reduce the need for mechanical cooling in buildings.
  • Implementing district cooling systems in densely populated urban areas can provide thermal comfort with significantly reduced climate impact.
  • Improving the energy and thermal efficiency of buildings through better design and construction not only reduces the urban heat island effect, but also provides thermal comfort within the buildings, which reduces the need for mechanical cooling.
  • Leading by example by ensuring all city-controlled assets (i.e. buildings, cooling equipment, and transport) are efficient and climate friendly. City governments must practice what they preach, and showcase successful models.
  • Advancing equity and cooling access through community-centric initiatives like cooling centres, heat alerts, wellness check programs, and community tree-planting. 
  • Raising awareness about urban heat and sustainable urban cooling among different communities is vital for success. Outreach activities could include guides and educational materials, demonstration projects, and behaviour change campaigns. 
  • Investing in capacity-building and training among city authorities and other key actors is necessary for the successful development, implementation, and enforcement of urban cooling initiatives.
  • Identifying and securing funding and financing sources is critical for the success of these interventions. There are a variety of options available for sourcing funds, including taxes, user fees, fines or penalties, official development assistance, public-private partnerships, and climate funds.

Many cities have also started to designate cooling champions to lead the charge against extreme heat, which just so happens to be one of the handbook’s recommended actions. So far, Miami (USA), Athens (Greece), and Freetown (Sierra Leone) have all appointed Chief Heat Officers (CHOs), and Seville (Spain) has recently announced that they will start to name and rank heat waves like other regions do tropical storms and hurricanes. And yesterday, at a COP26 side event, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced that from 2022, Miami will establish an annual ‘heat season’ that will run from May 1 until October 31. In addition to helping address urban heat in Miami, Athens, Freetown, and Seville, these announcements will also help to raise awareness of extreme heat as a global issue, encouraging other cities to follow suit. 

The time to act is now

If we are to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as committed to by national governments in the Paris Agreement, then we need cities to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. And in order to achieve net-zero by 2050, cities need to take urgent action to decarbonize their buildings and infrastructure, and build resilience to protect residents from rising temperatures.

There’s a long road ahead of us, but there’s plenty of support available to cities, as well as other stakeholders, to secure the progress we need. Tools like the Sustainable Cooling Handbook of Cities are providing actionable guidance for cities to support the development of sustainable cooling initiatives that can cut emissions and provide relief from the heat. Networks like the Cool Coalition and the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance, and campaigns like the Race to Zero and the Race to Resilience, are facilitating collaboration among stakeholders to stimulate ambition and drive change within urban heat, sustainable cooling, and beyond. 

For city officials looking to learn more about the threat of urban heat and how sustainable cooling can help protect people from extreme heat while supporting climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, there are a number of events taking place at COP26 that shouldn’t be missed. And the road doesn’t stop at COP26. Join the World Bank and partners on December 2nd for their ‘Making Cities Cooler with Nature’ webinar. And in 2022, the year of implementation, there will be more opportunities for cities and countries alike to highlight how they are taking action against extreme heat.

Our cities need clean cooling, both to protect urban communities from the deadly heat that is becoming all too familiar, and to mitigate the GHG emissions associated with cooling activities that warm our world even more. The world needs cities to act now.

A guide to cooling at COP26

With the long-awaited COP26 starting in just a few days, we wanted to let you know what cooling-related activities are planned for the two weeks in Glasgow. From sustainable cities and cold chains, to energy efficiency and passive cooling, there are lots of great events scheduled.

Please find a preliminary list of events below. We will update the list as new events are announced and details are confirmed. All times are GMT. 

We hope to see stakeholders from all around the world participate in discussions, announce new commitments to efficient, climate-friendly cooling, and demonstrate the leadership we need to achieve climate and development goals.

 

If you’re involved in a cooling-related event at COP26 and would like to add it to our list, please let us know.

 

Tuesday, November 2nd

Sustainable Cold Chain for the People, for the Planet: Addressing Climate Change, Hunger, and Energy

10:15-11:00 – Nordic Pavilion

Cool Coalition, SEforALL, and Clean Cooling Collaborative

Access to sustainable cold chains is an indispensable element for sustainable agricultural and rural development and reducing global emissions. This event will showcase the global status of cold chains and successful approaches to sustainable cold chains from countries and the private sector, with the goal to inspire accelerated action.

Watch the recording here.

Champion Mayors for Heat Action

15:30-17:00 – Resilience Hub

Atlantic Council

This session will feature mayors who have shown extraordinary global leadership in addressing extreme heat in urban areas. It will be an engaging discussion concerning extreme heat-related infrastructural issues within urban communities, including the accessibility of air conditioning, energy access, air pollution, and heat risk mitigation.

Watch the recording here.

 

Wednesday, November 3rd

Miti­ga­ti­on Po­ten­ti­al of F-Gas Banks Ma­nage­ment and Op­ti­ons for Mar­ket-ba­sed Ap­proa­ches

9:00-10:30 – IETA Business Hub (Virtual)

Green Cooling Initiative, GIZ, and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

Environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient cooling technologies with natural refrigerants are gaining ground, but as we move into the future, we must not forget the huge emissions stocks in our old cooling appliances. This virtual side event provides an overview on global F-Gas banks, potentials of banks management, and options for market-based approaches.

Watch the recording here.

Beat the Heat: Sustainable Urban Cooling for a Climate Proof Future

12:30-13:00 – Nordic Pavilion

Cool Coalition, RMI, Clean Cooling Collaborative, Global Covenant of Mayors, and Mission Innovation

The world’s cities are heating up at twice the global average rate due to urban heat island effect. Cities need to urgently adopt strategies to reduce heat at urban scale and cooling needs in buildings, serve cooling needs in sustainable and efficient ways. This session will showcase tools and solutions cities can use to tackle urban heat in sustainable and comprehensive ways, to protect the people and the planet alike. The Cool Coalition will launch the Sustainable Urban Cooling Handbook, a new tool that provides actionable guidance for cities to organize and prioritize action towards sustainable and equitable urban cooling.

Watch the recording here.

 

Thursday, November 4th

Panel Discussion on Product Efficiency: The World’s First Fuel – Making the Clean Energy Transition Cheaper, Easier and More Cost-Effective

12:00-13:15 – UK Presidency Pavilion 

SEAD Initiative, CLASP, IEA, UK BEIS, and Cool Coalition

This event will showcase how through the reinvigorated Super-Efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative and the UK’s COP26 Product Efficiency Call to Action governments, business, NGOS and consumers are working to double the efficiency of four key appliances by 2030.

Watch the recording here.

Upscaling Energy Efficiency Financing – Identifying and Overcoming the Investment Gap

16:00-17:00 – Brussels Studio

European Commission (DG ENER), EEFIG, and Cool Up

This panel will discuss EEFIG’s recommendations to upscale energy efficiency investments and the related challenges and feasibility in Europe and beyond, including how energy efficiency financing schemes can be scaled up in the sustainable cooling transition. Special attention on sustainable cooling will be given with a focus on the Cool Up programme.

Register here.

Supporting Clean Energy Entrepreneurs

17:15-18:45 – Resilience Hub

CLASP, Efficiency for Access, IEA, ICF, and SEforALL

A just and inclusive energy transition, one that alleviates energy poverty and mitigates climate change, requires an understanding of the needs of local clean energy entrepreneurs. In this one-hour panel discussion, stakeholders will discuss the obstacles and solutions to promoting a thriving local entrepreneurship environment in the off-grid solar sector.

Watch the recording here.

The Ashden Awards 2021

18:00 – COP26 Green Zone & Online

Ashden 

Join Ashden as they reveal the exciting initiatives that can fire us towards a low-carbon future. They will announce this year’s award winners and premiere a film highlighting the personal journeys of nine inspiring pioneers. From clean and affordable energy to new jobs and green skills, the Ashden Award winners show the awesome potential of climate action.

Watch the recording here.

 

Monday, November 8th

Cooler Homes, Stronger Communities

14:00-14:45 – SDG7 Pavilion

Ashden, Clean Cooling Collaborative, and Cool Coalition

Soaring heat creates danger in homes and neighbourhoods around the world, and people already marginalized are at greatest risk. Communities and grassroots innovators are taking action – but how can those in power support cooler homes for all?

Watch the recording here (at 03:09:00).

 

Wednesday, November 10th 

Integrated Urban Climate Action Aligned to 1.5°C: Exploring overlooked opportunities

14:00-15:15 – WWF Panda Hub

WWF Climate

Watch the recording here.

Sustainable and Efficient Cooling for a Warming Planet: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions 

16:45-18:00 – Multimedia Studio 3, COP26 Blue Zone

Japan, OECC, Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy, CCAC, and Cool Coalition

As the planet warms, the need for sustainable cooling for all is growing. This event examines how the cooling sector can improve climate outcomes through end-of-life disposal of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), improved efficiency, and increased speed and ambition to phase out high global warming refrigerants.

Watch the recording here.

 

Thursday, November 11th

Cooling: Concrete Options to Raise Ambition and Action – The Case of Cities

10:00-11:30 – French Pavilion

This side-event, organised by France, is an opportunity to highlight the climate impacts associated with the growing need for cooling (air conditioning and refrigeration), due both to the refrigerants used (mostly greenhouse gases) and to the energy consumption associated with the use of equipment.

Watch the live stream here.

(Green) Coo­ling as a Ser­vice 

12:30-14:00 – Online

GIZ Proklima and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

This online event will focus on one particular financing opportunity: Cooling as a Service (CaaS). The business model aims to enable clients to benefit from climate-friendly and energy efficient cooling technologies without the need of an upfront investment. Users pay for the cooling they receive, rather than the physical product or infrastructure that delivers the cooling.

Watch the recording here.

Be Bold: Sustainable Cooling for All

14:00-14:45 – SDG7 Pavilion

SEforALL and Cool Coalition

In a warming world, meeting our climate and sustainable development goals can’t be achieved without providing affordable, clean and climate friendly cooling solutions to address the needs of the most vulnerable. This side event will target policymakers and solution providers that are able to support increasing access to cooling through affordable, clean, and climate-friendly solutions.

Watch the recording here.

Empowering heat action at City Hall: The Chief Heat Officer

19:15-20:45 – Resilience Hub (Virtual)

Atlantic Council and the Extreme Heat Alliance

This session will feature the world’s first three Chief Heat Officers (CHOs) – city officials that plan and implement extreme heat-related policies and actions to protect the city’s population from heat risks. They will comment on the kind of challenges they face and share specific initiatives that are being undertaken in their cities.

Watch the recording here.

Sustainable cold chains: The missing link for sustainable development

Expanding global cold chains is vital if we’re to meet several of the Sustainable Development Goals relating to poverty reduction, food security, health and wellbeing, and climate action. That said, conventional cold chain technologies are energy intensive and harm our climate. So how can we improve and expand the global cold chain without exacerbating the climate crisis? Sustainable cold chains are the missing link.

Cold chains, which are the refrigerated portions of the supply chain, have always been an important aspect of modern life. For food, they help keep produce fresh, nutritious, and safe as it is moved from farm to fork, enhancing food security, reducing food waste, and boosting income for farmers. From a medical perspective, cold chains are crucial for the successful roll-out of immunization programs (such as for Covid-19), as well as the distribution of other life-saving medicines. Without a robust and unbroken cold chain, we can’t ensure the distribution of viable vaccines to the millions or billions of people who need them.

The importance of the cold chain

Every year, around 13% of the world’s food is lost due to a lack of effective refrigeration. This equates to 475 million tons of spoiled produce, which would be enough to feed around 950 million people. In a world where 811 million people are hungry and 2 billion people suffer from food insecurity, improving and expanding the cold chain would have a significant impact on global poverty reduction and other related development goals. 

This level of food waste results in the emission of an estimated 4.4 gigatons of CO2 equivalent each year (~8% total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions), of which, 1 gigaton of CO2 equivalent is thought to come from the absence or inefficiency of cold chains[2]Status of the Global Cold Chain: Summary briefing - Cool Coalition. In developing countries, where 90% of food waste happens along the supply chain, it’s estimated that some 470 million smallholders, farmers, and downstream value chain actors experience at least a 15% reduction to their income due to these losses[3]Net-zero cold chains for food - Carbon Trust and Clean Cooling Collaborative.

According to Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), around 2.7 billion people lack dependable access to vaccines as a result of insufficient cold chain infrastructure. It’s been estimated that more than 25% of some vaccines are wasted globally each year due to failings along the cold chain (e.g., temperature control and logistics). While this is problematic at any time, it’s particularly inadequate at a time when we need to ensure the equitable distribution of over 10 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to every corner of the world. Due to the nature of many of the Covid-19 vaccines, which require almost constant refrigeration, it’s likely that more than 85 of the world’s poorer countries will not have widespread access to Covid-19 vaccines before 2023. Not only does this delay directly threaten the health and wellbeing of a large portion of Earth’s population, it also makes it very difficult for global herd immunity to be reached, essentially putting everyone at risk.

The climate cost of cold chains

While we clearly need to take action to address these issues, it’s not quite as ‘simple’ as just expanding cold chains as they are. Conventional cold chain technologies typically use a huge amount of energy that generally comes from fossil-fuel sources; refrigerants that are often thousands of times more polluting than CO2; and transportation that runs off petrol and diesel, all of which is harming our climate. While not much data is available, it’s estimated that today’s global food cold chain infrastructure alone is responsible for around 1% of global CO2 emissions[4]James, S. J. & James, C. The food cold-chain and climate change. Food Res. Int. 43, 1944–1956 (2010).. And as global temperatures rise, it is likely that emissions from cold chains will also increase due to a greater need for cooling.

If we’re to expand cold chain coverage to ensure universal access without exacerbating the climate crisis, we must do so using a whole-systems approach with technologies that are energy efficient and climate-friendly, and use low-carbon transportation. We know that this is achievable, and we must accelerate action to support the transition to sustainable cold chain technologies. 

Improving and expanding sustainable cold chains

Cold chains, be they for food or for vaccines, are very complex systems, with lots of different stakeholders and lots of moving parts. To be effective, they require coordinated effort across the whole system. In order to transform the cold chain sector, we need ambitious commitments and timely action from all stakeholders, whether they work in policy, finance, business, or elsewhere. This reform is imperative if we are to successfully address all of the urgent societal and climate issues that communities are facing around the world.

There are a number of actions that can and should be taken by government and other stakeholders to expand the sustainability and coverage of cold chains:

  • Conducting a cooling needs assessment. In order to identify gaps, shortfalls, and opportunities within a cold chain, we must establish what currently exists and what will be needed in the future. Through tools like SEforALL and Heriot-Watt University’s Cooling for All Needs Assessment, stakeholders can establish a country’s baseline for access to cooling; measure the full scope of cooling demand; and then understand what policy, technology, and finance options are available.
  • Developing a National Cooling Action Plan. National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs), which reach far beyond the cold chain, are an important tool that can be used to align the diverse interests of cooling stakeholders. They can help governments identify different pathways to sustainable cooling for all, including access to cold chains. The Cool Coalition’s National Cooling Action Plan Methodology offers a “holistic but modular methodology” for developing an NCAP. 
  • Ratifying the Kigali Amendment. By ratifying and implementing the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, nations are taking action to prevent the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are thousands of times more harmful to our climate than CO2 and typically used throughout the cold chain. In phasing out HFCs and replacing them with climate-friendly refrigerants, we can reduce cold chains’ direct GHG emissions.
  • Implementing and enforcing ambitious efficiency standards. In order to cut global GHG emissions, ensure energy access/security, and support the transition to clean energy, we need to drastically improve the energy efficiency of cooling technologies. Through minimum efficiency performance standards (MEPS) we can demand better products from producers and ensure that our cold chains have minimal impact on our climate. Improved efficiency also reduces the lifetime cost of operation through lower energy bills, which also improves accessibility.
  • Investing in infrastructure. Cold chains typically rely on complex infrastructure networks beyond just refrigerated components. Effective sustainable cold chains require reliable, low-carbon transport networks (road, rail, air, and sea) and reliable, clean energy supplies. All aspects must be improved and maintained.
  • Investing in research and development. While many solutions already exist, we need to invest in research and development (R&D) to speed up the transition. Not only is R&D necessary to drive further technological breakthroughs, it’s also needed to make solutions more affordable and accessible.
  • Mobilizing finance. Whether it comes from philanthropy, governments, or financial institutions, we need investment to support the expansion of sustainable cold chains. This could include investing in businesses that offer cooling services to consumers, such as farmers, on a ‘pay-per-use’ basis, offering loans to support the procurement of efficient, climate-friendly equipment, or funding a demonstration project.

Other elements could include introducing sustainable procurement practices to influence purchasing behaviour; offering training and capacity building to ensure the local workforce can take ownership of the process; and investing in better monitoring, maintenance, and optimization to ensure equipment performance. 

To put it simply, we need global coverage of efficient, climate-friendly cold chains in order to meet numerous development and climate goals. From farm to fork, and laboratory to ‘last mile’, we need unbroken cold chains that are made up of energy-efficient, climate-friendly, and low-carbon technologies. We need all stakeholders – governments, financial institutions, private sector organizations, and NGOs – to make ambitious commitments and take the necessary action to support this transition.

Climate-friendly air conditioning: A really cool idea

The importance of significantly boosting the energy efficiency of air conditioning is vital in our battle against the climate crisis, particularly for the global transition to a clean power grid. In this blog, Iain Campbell from RMI and Noah Horowitz from the Clean Cooling Collaborative discuss the importance of leapfrogging to super-efficient air conditioning and what we need to do to bring it to market.

As the effects of climate change are becoming more prominent every day, there is an increased sense of urgency and activity to accelerate the transition to a power grid fueled by renewable energy, to electric vehicles, and to low-carbon ways of producing food, steel, and concrete. However, one sector that isn’t receiving sufficient global attention in terms of climate action is the cooling sector, which currently represents around 10% of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To put this into perspective, cooling is responsible for more annual GHG emissions than air travel and ocean shipping combined. Unfortunately, mitigating these emissions is not as simple as stopping all cooling activities. In a warming world, cooling is essential for keeping people cool and productive, as well as preserving our food and medicine.

Why cooling is a big issue that will only get bigger

Because of rising temperatures, growing global income levels, and increasing urbanization, the demand for air conditioners (ACs) is due to skyrocket over the coming decades. In fact, the number of room ACs is projected to more than triple, increasing by over 3 billion units by 2050, many of which will be installed in developing countries where the climate is very warm and/or humid.

Unfortunately, mainstream air conditioning has a significant impact on our climate due to both the vast amount of electricity generated to power them and the refrigerants – most commonly hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – they use for cooling, which are thousands of times more potent than CO2 in terms of their global warming potential (GWP).

In terms of energy consumption, if the efficiency of room AC units being sold in the market maintains the current trajectory, i.e., being driven by the gradual nudging of minimum energy performing standards (MEPS), we will see peak power demand increase by 2,000 gigawatts (GW) by 2050. This will require 4,000 new power plants to supply the incremental 5,400 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity to operate these ACs each year. This is approximately equivalent to the current annual electricity consumption of the US, Japan, and Germany combined.

This cannot be our future.

Leapfrogging to new super-efficient ACs with climate-friendly refrigerants

In late 2018, a broad-based coalition led by  RMI, India’s Department of Science and Technology, and Mission Innovation launched the Global Cooling Prize, a bold challenge to develop an affordable residential cooling solution with five times (referred to as “5X”) lower climate impact than the typical units being sold in the market today. The goal of a 5X reduction was developed intentionally to neutralize the emissions impact of the expected growth in the residential cooling sector over the next three or four decades. Put simply, to achieve a 5X lower climate impact, a solution delivering comparable cooling would need to use less than a quarter of the energy and utilize an extremely low GWP refrigerant or no refrigerant at all.

The Prize received an overwhelming response from startups, universities, and research labs, as well as major industry players and AC manufacturers. In April 2021, after testing their prototypes in India within an actual apartment building and simulated real-world conditions in a lab, two teams – Daikin with partner Nikken Sekkei, and Gree with partner Tsinghua University[5]While you might not be familiar with these names, Daikin and Gree represent two of the largest AC manufacturers in the world. – were announced as winners of the Prize. Both teams exceeded the 5X lower climate impact criteria.

This competition was a huge success as it pushed manufacturers to think big and pursue dramatically new and innovative designs that will deliver excellent cooling performance with a small fraction of the environmental impacts of current models. And considering the operational savings due to the energy performance of the winning technologies, the total lifecycle cost of ownership was assessed to be about half that of the typical room ACs.

The next challenge…getting from prototype to mass market

While the Prize’s 5X prototypes were great, one cannot yet purchase either of the winning models. One of the winners has committed to bring a 5X lower climate impact product to the market by 2025, which is very encouraging, but we need to do more.

A series of actions are needed to prime the market and ensure that these two manufacturers, as well as others, continue their work to refine and commercialize models that target 5X lower climate impact as a priority. These include:

  • Updating testing methodology – The current method for evaluating the efficiency and energy use of room ACs is incomplete; it doesn’t include testing for high-humidity conditions or fully reward the actual performance of partial load operation and the inherent benefits of variable speed compressors. An updated test method and metric will help “unlock” the additional savings that more efficient designs deliver under real world testing conditions.
  • Updating energy performance label and MEPS – Government agencies need to update the top tier of their energy performance label (1 to 5, A to G, or star system) to help differentiate and reward these dramatically more efficient models and “raise the floor” of their MEPS in order to remove the least efficient models from the market.
  • Additional research and development – Signals on performance metrics and standards (i.e., efficiency labels and MEPS) will incentivize manufacturers and their suppliers to ramp up innovation and further refine their next generation models, placing their updated prototypes in the field for additional testing.
  • Demonstration projects – High profile demonstration projects are essential to showcase new technologies, their excellent performance, and the energy savings and climate mitigation benefits they can provide.
  • Jumpstarting sales – Government agencies, along with corporations that view themselves as climate leaders, should work together to commit to purchase the first million units of these 5X models. This would send a strong signal to the manufacturers that the demand exists and justify investments in bringing these models to the market. These entities frequently make purchasing decisions based on lifecycle costs, rather than simply seeking out the product with the lowest purchase price.
  • Utilities should help too – Power utilities and their regulators should explore ways to accelerate the uptake of these 5X models as they would take stress off the grid and reduce the need to make costly investments in additional peak power generation or storage capacity. Options include on-bill financing to help consumers (especially lower-income customers) afford the more efficient models with a slightly higher upfront cost and access the lifecycle savings that they deliver.

In this decade when we need decisive action to tame the climate crisis, the solution for the cooling challenge is right in front of us. We know what we need to do, and we know how to do it. Let’s grasp the opportunity and leapfrog to these new AC technologies that have much lower environmental impacts and will help accelerate the shift to a clean energy power grid and efficient, climate-friendly cooling for all.

Late may be better than never for holding COP26, but action on cooling cannot wait any longer.

As global temperatures rise, there’s increased urgency to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while also building resilience to our warming world. Action on cooling is a vital part of both these tasks, and the time to act is now. But how can stakeholders support the global transition to efficient, climate-friendly cooling? 

It’s been almost two months since I joined the team here at the Clean Cooling Collaborative, and what a few months they’ve been! To say it’s been a whirlwind is definitely an understatement. When I first started, the organization was still known by its previous name – the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) – and the team was busy helping to wrap up the program’s Phase I projects and producing their 2017-2021 impact report. It was great to look back over the past four years, tabulating the significant impact of K-CEP and celebrating the countless achievements of the team and its implementing partners. But now it’s time to look ahead to continue this great work and secure new, meaningful, and urgent action on clean cooling. 

Why act on cooling?

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2020 was 1.2°C hotter than pre-industrial temperatures, which is getting dangerously close to the internationally-agreed ambition to minimize global warming to 1.5°C. In addition, the frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme heat events are on the rise, as are many other impacts of the climate crisis. Less than 100 miles from where I live in California, countless communities have fallen victim to an unprecedented number of large forest fires, with similar occurrences happening all across the globe, from Australia to Greece, and Turkey to Canada.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that we are in much need of bold action, and what better occasion to commit to such action than the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which starts in just under four weeks.  

Following a year-long delay of the conference due to Covid-19, there’s been growing pressure on governments and other stakeholders to make ambitious climate commitments and to follow through on pledges with timely action. And in our opinion, this must include meaningful action on cooling, which is currently responsible for around 10% of global GHG emissions. Emissions from the sector are expected to rise with the growing demand for cooling, as 3 billion additional new room air conditioners (ACs) are projected to be in use by 2050. As we see this growing demand, ensuring equitable access to clean cooling solutions is vital for climate mitigation and building resilience to our warming world.

Not only does transitioning to efficient, climate-friendly cooling on its own have significant emissions reductions potential, it’s also necessary to help accelerate the transition to clean energy. By significantly boosting the efficiency of cooling appliances, we can dramatically cut energy demand, reducing the strain on our power grids on hot days and minimizing the need for fossil fuel-based peaker plants. This shift would make the transition to a clean grid faster and cheaper. 

As we near COP26, it’s promising to see momentum building around efficient, climate-friendly cooling. We’ve recently seen a few of cooling’s major players ratify the Kigali Amendment – an international agreement to phase down the use of super-polluting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – announce their intention to do so, or take equivalent action (like here in the United States). There’s also been an impressive number of countries including commitments to efficient, climate-friendly cooling in their enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which detail each country’s plans to reduce their national GHG emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. As of early August, 37 submitted NDCs (representing 63 countries) included commitments on cooling, with at least four more countries (Burkina Faso, Jordan, Pakistan, and Tunisia) signaling they will include action on cooling in their NDCs as part of our NDC Support Facility. On top of all of this, there’s lots happening to significantly boost the energy efficiency of cooling appliances, as seen in the Global Cooling Prize and in the Super-Efficient Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative’s recent call to double the efficiency of  new ACs and refrigerators.

With all that said, we still have a long way to go to secure the action needed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and avoid a climate and development disaster. At least 45 countries have yet to submit their enhanced NDCs, around 71 countries still need to officially ratify the Kigali Amendment, and only 11 major cooling manufacturers (of 54) have joined the Race to Zero, which requires signatories to commit to emissions reductions in line with the Paris Agreement. 

The time to act is now

While we firmly believe that all stakeholders should always be working to minimize their impact, major events like COP26 provide an occasion to demonstrate leadership and encourage collective action. We hope to see both at this year’s conference. But how can different stakeholders support the global transition to efficient, climate-friendly cooling?

National governments need to be committing to and implementing clean cooling policies like adopting ambitious minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) to improve the efficiency of cooling appliances; ratifying the Kigali Amendment to cut the use of super-polluting HFCs; developing National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs) to ensure more equitable access to life-saving cooling solutions; or funding research and development (R&D) to support the urgent development and adoption of high-performing technologies. Furthermore, by including such policies in national commitments like NDCs, countries can demonstrate their ambition on the international stage and encourage other countries to follow suit. Global action is paramount to global success. 

Local governments also have an important role to play by making our cities, states, and provinces more sustainable through localized policies. Building codes can ensure that homes, offices, and schools are energy efficient and kept cool with passive solutions like cool roofs. More thoughtful urban planning like tree cover, green spaces, and water features can minimize the urban heat island effect. Local cooling or heat action plans are also a vital tool for regional governments to pull together the various elements that can help an area adapt to climate change, protect its citizens (particularly the most vulnerable communities), and minimize cooling’s climate impact. 

The private sector, in terms of both the suppliers and consumers of cooling, also needs to commit to and enact change. Cooling manufacturers are encouraged to join the race to zero by developing long-term emissions reductions plans, which should include the conversion of product lines to significantly improve the efficiency of their appliances and transition to refrigerants with ultra-low global warming potential (GWP). They also need to invest more in R&D to speed up this transition. Organizations that consume large amounts of cooling, such as supermarkets and refrigerated warehouses, can commit to the transition through their purchasing decisions, for example by choosing clean cooling equipment over polluting alternatives.

And finally, financial institutions can show their commitment by directly investing money in programs that will improve the affordability and accessibility of efficient, climate-friendly cooling, such as cooling-as-a-service business models, on-wage financing schemes, or leasing programs.

What next?

Even more important than securing such commitments, is ensuring that stakeholders are held accountable to their pledges and urgent action is taken to implement changes. There’s no merit in committing to change if the steps aren’t taken to actually make the change. 

I’m optimistic that COP26 will be a success and that cooling will be one of the sectors actively discussed. I’m also confident that it will be just the start of what’s to come in terms of both commitments and meaningful action.

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This is the first post in a short series of blogs in the run up to (and during) COP26. In it, we will be looking at some of the topics that are at the top of our list. You will hear from a few of the Clean Cooling Collaborative team, as well as some of our wise implementing partners. Keep an eye on our Twitter for the latest posts.

Celebrating the successes of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program

In 2016, leading climate foundations collaborated ahead of the Montreal Protocol meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, and pledged more than $50 million to create the largest-ever fund of its kind for action on efficient, climate-friendly cooling. The following spring, the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) was born, under the management of a new secretariat assembled by and housed at ClimateWorks Foundation.

In the four year since then, K-CEP has grown from a bright idea to a thriving program that has achieved significant and measurable results. In addition to securing sizable greenhouse gas emissions reductions, the program has helped place cooling on the global agenda, shining a spotlight on an issue that was often overlooked in terms of both its human impact and mitigation potential.

Impact event highlights

Today we came together with our funding partners and implementing partners to celebrate the successes of our collective efforts of the last four years and to launch our 2017-2021 (i.e., ‘Phase I’) impact report – Scaling up clean cooling for all. In addition to estimating the emissions reductions and cost savings of our network’s actions, the report looks at the wide range of accomplishments we have made since 2017 to support the global transition to efficient, climate-friendly cooling.  

We are excited to report that through the hard work of our team and partners, we expect to secure 4.2 gigatons of avoided CO2 emissions by 2050, with 2.4 Gt CO2 emissions reductions already locked in. In total, this represents $960 billion in cost savings over the same period. Theses significant impacts have resulted from meeting a range of ambitious milestones, including but not limited to:

  • Making direct investments to advance efficient, climate-friendly cooling in 57 countries.
  • Mobilizing the investment of over $600 million in public and private finance to steer consumers and institutions toward more efficient, climate-friendly cooling products.
  • Supporting the proposal, adoption, or implementation of 21 cooling appliance standards around the world. 
  • Developing a network of more than 54 partner organizations, 99 business partnerships, and more than 100 Cool Coalition partners to drive change in the cooling sector.
  • Influencing the integration of cooling into comprehensive national climate policies.

Read more about our new impact report in our recent press release, here.

Today’s event gave some funders and other stakeholders a chance to reflect on their time working alongside K-CEP. It was heartening to hear such encouraging sentiments from so many dear colleagues. We look forward to many more years of meaningful and impactful collaboration!

As per tradition, we also used our annual meeting to give some well-deserved recognition to a few of our grantees and partners. While we wish we could give awards to all of our partners and grantees, this year’s winners were:

  • Ashden (Cool Storytelling)
  • ESMAP / Energy Foundation China / NRDC (High-Impact on Cooling)
  • BASE (Cool Trailblazing)
  • Cool Coalition / Brazilian Institute for Climate and Society (The Strongest Collaborations)
  • Government of Rwanda (Lifetime Commitment to Cooling)

Introducing the Clean Cooling Collaborative…

We also took today’s event as an opportunity to share a few big announcements with our network of partners and funders. In addition to introducing and welcoming our new director, Noah Horowitz, we also launched our new name – the Clean Cooling Collaborative. 

As the first phase of the program comes to an end and focus shifts beyond cooling efficiency, we thought now was the right moment to refresh our brand, aligning it to the more comprehensive approach we will be taking as we move forward. We feel that this new identity better reflects our growing role in building a global coalition that works across policy, finance, and industry to decarbonize the cooling sector worldwide. 

Continuing to work in partnership with the global cooling community that K-CEP helped to establish, as well as embracing new strategic collaborations, we, as the Clean Cooling Collaborative, are looking forward to carrying on K-CEP’s legacy of ensuring efficient, climate-friendly cooling for all.

Read more about this transition in our recent press release, here.

Enhanced NDCs feature crucial solution for turning down global temperatures

By Dan Hamza-Goodacre, Cooing Sector Lead, COP26 High Level Champions Team and Jess Brown, Executive Director, Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP)

Though we’re not yet halfway through 2021, it’s already shaping up to be a banner year for tackling climate change – politically, financially, and socially. Any consumer taking in the tidal wave of climate news will be able to cite numerous examples of action and yet science demands more action to keep warming below 1.5°C. Thankfully more is coming.

One of the most critical goals to achieve in 2021 is an enhanced Paris Agreement, which means negotiating issues like carbon markets, finance, and reporting, but perhaps more significantly, updating Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for climate mitigation and adaptation. NDCs are a fundamental component because they detail the targets, policies, and measures governments aim to implement over the next five years. Each country must submit an updated NDC to the UN by COP26 in November this year.

While most parties are still working on enhancing their plans, 81 countries (as of May 1) have already updated their NDCs or submitted entirely new ones. And to that we say ‘Bravo!’. Even more exciting (in our eyes) is an emerging trend that we’re seeing in these recently published NDCs, one that has huge mitigation potential. Currently, this mitigation potential is roughly 7% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, although this is expected to double by 2050 if left unchecked. Not only does this trend have the potential to avoid a sizable chuck of global emissions, it’s also critical for adapting to the warming climate and delivering multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to health, nutrition, productivity, and education.

So, what is this trend? Well, it’s quite simply committing to the adoption of or transition to energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling solutions. So far, 22 NDCs – representing 48 countries – have featured cooling commitments or reference to it, with at least seven countries signaling they will include action on climate-friendly cooling in their NDC when they go to print.

A new briefing paper from the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) summarizes the state of play and includes 10 case studies of published or planned NDC enhancements featuring climate-friendly cooling. This work is being done as part of K-CEP’s NDC Support Facility for Efficient, Climate-Friendly Cooling, which was set up to help developing countries that are committing to take action on cooling in support of the Paris Agreement. The brief goes on to give an overview of 45 additional countries (including the 27 members of the European Union) that have already included climate-friendly cooling in their enhanced NDCs in some form.

Government action on efficient, climate-friendly cooling

While most governments tend to focus on the supply side of the energy transition and shifting from fossil fuels to clean power, many of these 55 countries have recognized the need to also look through the other end of the telescope, managing energy demand as well as the use of refrigerants that have a high global warming potential (GWP). They have understood that energy supply is just a means to an end, not the end itself, and that it is the benefits we receive from energy, such as cooling, that matter. The more efficiently we can deliver these benefits in terms of energy supplied for benefits produced, the cheaper the cost of the energy transition will be and the quicker we can do it. The Economist Intelligence Unit recently quantified these cost and time reductions and estimated that efficient cooling (in appliances and buildings) can save $3.5 trillion by 2030 and take eight years off the transition to net zero.

Making our cooling more energy efficient can be achieved at the product level, like in air-conditioners (ACs) and refrigerators, or at the system level, such as buildings, cities, and grids. Enhanced NDC commitments on cooling reflect the different entry points for efficient cooling. For example, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Pakistan will be focusing on more stringent Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for ACs and refrigerators, while Cambodia, Vietnam, Burkina Faso, and Jordan will be upgrading their public buildings and cities. Alternatively, Ethiopia and Chile are focusing on industrial cooling.

In parallel with NDC enhancements, 118 countries and the European Union have now also ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which aims to reduce the production and use of super-polluting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), 86% of which are accounted for in cooling equipment (in GWP-weighted tons CO2-eq terms). Better alignment of these two regimes (i.e., the Paris Agreement and the Kigali Amendment) will help countries to reduce emissions from cooling faster and more cost-effectively.

Cooling our warming world

As we ‘build back better’ we also need to ‘build back cooler’, ensuring that cooling equipment and appliances, as well as buildings, are net zero, and that the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic also focuses on cooling our warming world. In doing so there are huge opportunities to address racial and social equity challenges by reducing the cost of cooling for low-income consumers, retrofitting buildings for comfort and health, and making public spaces ‘cool havens’ to provide respite from the heat waves that challenge our way of life more and more each year.

With the publication of the COP26 High Level Champions’ Climate Action Pathway to Net-zero Cooling, we know how to get to net-zero cooling – passive buildings, super-efficient equipment and appliances, and ultra-low (< 5) GWP refrigerants – but now we have to ensure the necessary actions are taken to get us there.

Enhanced NDC commitments on cooling are an important step in the right direction on this sectoral pathway. The benefits are clear. Of the 189 parties that have joined the Paris Agreement, the majority still need to submit enhanced NDCs by COP26 this November, and many need to ratify the Kigali Amendment. Taking ambitious action on both fronts would provide a valuable opportunity to realize the full mitigation potential of energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling.

The recent announcements from the U.S. and China – namely their Joint Statement Addressing the Climate Crisis (including the phasedown of HFCs), both countries’ decision to ratify the Kigali Amendment, and the United States’ enhanced NDC and American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act – has puts some serious wind under the wings of the Kigali Amendment, its significance in geopolitical terms, and what it means for the cooling industry overall. That said, more emphasis is needed on cooling more broadly, such as appliance efficiency standards. A renewed spotlight on the efficiency of cooling appliances, building design, and the HFC phasedown as a complete suite of critical climate solutions simply can’t come soon enough. Temperatures are rising and the clock is ticking for people and planet.

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Governments interested in enhancing their NDCs with action on climate-friendly cooling please email us.

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