march, 2025
Event Details
Background
2023 was the hottest year on record—until 2024 surpassed it. Now, in 2025, access to sustainable cooling is no longer only a climate concern, but a global necessity. As extreme heat events become more frequent and severe, access to efficient, climate-friendly cooling has emerged as a critical pillar of both adaptation and mitigation efforts.
The Global Cooling Watch 2023 offered a landmark analysis of global cooling trends, revealing that demand for cooling is rising rapidly due to urbanization, soaring temperatures, and expanding middle-class populations. However, the report also highlighted that current cooling technologies and policies are falling short of what is needed to meet climate targets. Urgent action is required to improve energy efficiency, scale passive cooling strategies, and transition away from climate-warming refrigerants.
Since then, global momentum around cooling has accelerated:
- The Global Cooling Pledge, launched at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP28 in Dubai, set a collective ambition to cut cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050 and expand access to sustainable cooling by 2030.
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a Call to Action on Extreme Heat, emphasizing cooling as a life-saving necessity for protecting communities, economies, and ecosystems.
- The Annual Global Cooling Pledge Progress Report 2024, endorsed at the COP29 Ministerial Roundtable, provided the first comprehensive assessment of cooling commitments from over 70 countries, highlighting progress and key challenges in implementation.
As the world prepares for COP30 and countries finalize their NDCs 3.0, the UNEP Cool Coalition is preparing to release the second Global Cooling Watch report. This webinar will bridge insights from the 2023 edition with the upcoming 2025 report, identifying policy gaps, investment opportunities, and key actions needed to scale sustainable cooling worldwide.
Objectives
This webinar will:
- Assess progress by revisiting key findings from Global Cooling Watch 2023 and evaluating policy shifts, market trends, and technological advancements since its release.
- Highlight near-zero cooling opportunities from the Global Cooling Watch, focusing on energy efficiency, passive cooling, and refrigerant transition strategies.
- Introduce thematic priorities for Global Cooling Watch 2025, outlining pathways for scaling passive cooling, improving energy efficiency, and phasing out high-emission refrigerants.
- Showcase investment opportunities in sustainable cooling, leveraging insights from the IFC-UNEP Cool Coalition Cooler Finance report, and exploring financing mechanisms to scale sustainable cooling adoption.
Agenda
Opening Remarks (5 min)
Speaker: Lily Riahi, Global Coordinator, UNEP Cool Coalition
Moderated Discussion: Getting to Near-Zero Cooling Emissions (40 min)
Moderator: Lily Riahi, Global Coordinator, UNEP Cool Coalition
- Unpacking the Global Cooling Watch: Key Data & Trends
Ray Gluckman, Director, Gluckman Consulting
- Unpacking the Global Cooling Watch: Key Policy Actions on Sustainable Cooling
Radhika Khosla, Associate Professor, Oxford Smith School; Research Director, Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development
- The Global Cooling Pledge: Actioning Sustainable Cooling
Hubert Nsoh Zan, Senior Enforcement Officer, Energy Efficiency, Ghana Energy Commission
- Tracking Progress of Sustainable Cooling Commitments
Omar Abdelaziz, Assistant Professor, American University in Cairo
- Sizing the Challenge & Mobilizing Climate Finance for Cooling Solutions
Rusmir Musić, Global Cooling Lead & Climate Finance Expert, International Finance Corporation
Audience Q&A (10 min)
Moderated by: Lily Riahi, Global Coordinator, UNEP Cool Coalition
Closing Remarks: The Future of Cooling & Global Cooling Watch 2025 (5 min)
Speaker: Axum Teferra, Senior Associate Director, Clean Cooling Collaborative, ClimateWorks Foundation
Resources