Chilling Prospects 2022: The role of National Cooling Action Plans in delivering the global environment agenda
Reflections on five years of the Kigali Amendment by the Cool Coalition |
Increasing temperatures, growing economies, and more frequent heat waves and extreme weather events across the globe are resulting in a growing demand for cooling services.
In recent years, the issue of promoting sustainable and affordable access to cooling has emerged as an area of focus for governments, the health and food industry, real estate and technology providers, and financial institutions. Cooling services are essential to provide human comfort and productivity and ensure the safety of foods, medicine and vaccines, but can have negative environmental and economic impacts. Cooling is currently responsible for more than 7 percent of GHG emissions, and this figure is projected to double by 2050 if left unmanaged. Given the adverse impact of cooling on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change, accelerated global efforts on policy, technology and finance availability for sustainable cooling have now become inevitable. Climate-friendly cooling could cut 8 years’ worth of global emissions by 2050.