Taking action on sustainable cooling

Demand for cooling is set to triple by 2050, due to population increases, more extreme-heat events, and a rising number of low-income households gaining access to inefficient cooling.

These are the findings of a new UN report, launched at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, which has detailed a strategy to achieve more sustainable cooling — significantly cutting emissions and costs while protecting global populations from rising heat.

The report, ‘Global Cooling Watch 2025’, warns that a business-as-usual approach will result in double the cooling-related greenhouse gas emissions of 2022, pushing cooling emissions to an estimated 7.2 billion tons of CO₂e by 2050 and overwhelming power grids during peak load. This is set to happen despite current efforts to improve energy efficiency and phase down climate-warming refrigerants.

To avert this disastrous state of affairs, the report suggests adopting a ‘Sustainable Cooling Pathway’, which could reduce emissions to 64% — 2.6 billion tons of CO₂e — below the levels expected in 2050. When combined with rapid decarbonisation of the global power sector, residual cooling emissions could fall to 97% below business-as-usual levels.

“As deadly heatwaves become more regular and extreme, access to cooling must be treated as essential infrastructure alongside water, energy and sanitation,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

“But we cannot air condition our way out of the heat crisis, which would drive greenhouse gas emissions higher and raise costs. Passive, energy efficient and nature-based solutions can help meet our growing cooling needs and keep people, food chains and economies safe from heat as we pursue global climate goals.

“We have no excuse: it is time we beat the heat.”

What does a sustainable cooling pathway look like?

UNEP’s Sustainable Cooling Pathway suggests a mix of the following: passive cooling strategies; low-energy and hybrid cooling that combines fans and air conditioners; rapid adoption of high-efficiency equipment; and accelerated phase-down of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants under the Kigali Amendment.

Nearly two-thirds of the emissions cuts available would come from passive and low-energy solutions, reinforcing the urgency of embedding them in national policies and urban planning. UNEP said such solutions are also highly affordable and critical for improving access to cooling for three billion more people by 2050. If adopted, the Pathway could save US$17 trillion in cumulative energy costs through to 2050, and avoid up to US$26 trillion in grid investment through reduced electricity demand.

Joining together to beat the heat

The Pathway underpins the Mutirão Contra o Calor Extremo/Beat the Heat implementation drive — a collective effort led by the Brazil COP30 presidency and UNEP Cool Coalition — to localise COP28’s Global Cooling Pledge and bridge gaps in policy, finance and delivery of heat resilience and urban cooling. Today, over 185 cities and 83 partners have joined Beat the Heat, alongside the 72 Global Cooling Pledge signatories. The Pledge aims to reduce cooling-related emissions by 68% from today by 2050, significantly increase access to sustainable cooling by 2030, and increase the global average efficiency of new air conditioners by 50%. (Australia is not among the 72 signatories.)

H.E. Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, said that as a Global Cooling Pledge signatory, Singapore was taking concrete steps towards Pledge implementation and was proud to support the Beat the Heat initiative by sharing its technical expertise and experience in sustainable cooling and urban heat resilience.

“Singapore will bring together Global Cooling Pledge focal points, policymakers and practitioners from around the world for a review of Pledge progress and a deep dive on sustainable cooling and heat resilience solutions,” Fu said.

“Singapore will also share our technical capabilities from our Digital Urban Climate Twin to empower cities globally to better model, predict and mitigate urban heat,” she added.

Progress is patchy

Of the 72 nations to join the Global Cooling Pledge, 29 countries as of mid-2025 had established specific greenhouse gas reduction targets for the cooling sector, with a further five developing such targets, the UN said.

In total, 134 countries have incorporated cooling into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Long-term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), energy plans, or other national climate strategies.

However, only 54 countries have comprehensive policies across all three priority areas for cooling: passive cooling in building energy codes, minimum energy performance standards, and refrigerant transition. A further 78 countries cover two of these pillars, 40 cover only one, and 20 have yet to begin. The largest gaps are in African and Asia–Pacific countries, where much of the global rise in demand for cooling can be expected.

H.E. Lt. Gen. Bashir Mohamed Jama, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Somalia, said that for Somalian cities like Dolow, Biadoa, Galkaio and Bossaso, sustainable cooling is not a luxury — it is a lifeline. “By joining Beat the Heat and working with the UNEP-led Cool Coalition, we aim to protect lives and livelihoods from intensifying heat while advancing climate commitments. Together with other cities, we can turn passive cooling and innovation into resilience for the most vulnerable urban communities,” Jama said.

To increase action, the UNEP report has issued a series of recommendations, including moving from emergency response mode to proactive, multi-level governance on extreme heat and cooling. It urges nations to treat heat protection and cooling as a public good, and to prioritise passive and nature-based solutions — including urban design — to cut cooling loads, mitigate the urban heat island effect and reduce grid stress.

Top image credit: iStock.com/sturti