Cool Coalition Coordinates Action ahead of COP30
Collective action is one of the most powerful forces in tackling the climate crisis, particularly when solutions must scale quickly, equitably, and across sectors. As momentum builds toward the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cool Coalition is harnessing that force to accelerate sustainable cooling solutions with real, measurable impact. The second Cool Coalition Membership Coordination Call of 2025 was held on 14 October, bringing together governments, businesses, cities, and financial institutions to align priorities, celebrate progress, and deepen collaboration across the growing cooling community.
Two members of the Cool Coalition Executive Steering Committee—Andrea Voigt, Vice President of Group Climate Solutions at Danfoss, and Graeme Maidment, Director of Net Zero at the United Kingdom Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero—served as the Call’s moderators. Together, they welcomed members and outlined the Call’s focus on delivery and shared visibility in the lead-up to COP30.
In her opening remarks, Lily Riahi, Head of the Cool Coalition Secretariat, described the meeting as a timely opportunity to reflect on collective progress and chart a unified path forward. She outlined the Coalition’s role in translating global ambition into local delivery through flagship efforts like the Global Cooling Pledge and the Beat the Heat Implementation Drive. “Cooling stands out as one of the most immediate, concrete, and achievable climate solutions available, a pillar of climate resilience,” she noted. “That’s why we’re working with many of you to help integrate sustainable cooling into NDCs, into national plans, and into local implementation strategies.”
Perspectives from the Cool Coalition Executive Steering Committee
Graeme Maidment opened the first session, highlighting plans to publish the United Kingdom’s passive cooling framework in early 2026, alongside ongoing work to strengthen the national Heat Resilience Strategy. He emphasised the need to integrate cooling across planning systems and departments, positioning it as essential to health, productivity, and long-term resilience. “We need to get cooling embedded in the way government works not just as a climate issue, but as a whole-of-society priority,” he said.
Andrea Voigt followed highlighting the central role of the private sector in advancing sustainable cooling solutions through the Cool Coalition. She pointed to growing alignment across industry leaders—from innovation in cold chains and district cooling to emerging financing models like cooling-as-a-service. She also highlighted strong private sector engagement in the COP30 Buildings and Cooling Pavilion, which will feature key technologies and partnerships across the value chain. “We are seeing business leadership both in technology development and in shaping the agenda, which is exactly where leadership and delivery connect,” Voigt noted.
Flagship Implementation & Strategic Initiatives
The session turned to the Cool Coalition’s flagship delivery track, focused on strengthening local action and multi-level coordination. At its centre is the Beat the Heat Implementation Drive, a joint initiative by the COP30 Presidency and UNEP, designed to support cities with tackling extreme heat events through heat assessments, nature-based and passive cooling, and sustainable building codes. Presenting the drive, Dr Eleni “Lenio” Myrivili, Global Chief Heat Officer at UNEP and the Atlantic Council, framed extreme heat as a silent crisis that demands urgent, systemic attention. “We need to shift the narrative around extreme heat from a seasonal inconvenience to a systemic threat, and equip cities with the tools, financing, and political backing to act,” she stressed. Myrivili invited countries and cities to join Beat the Heat, and partners to contribute to implementation through instruments like the EPIC Facility and upcoming engagements at COP30.
Dr. Omar Abdelaziz, Associate Professor at the American University in Cairo, followed with a preview of Global Cooling Watch 2025, UNEP’s biennial report on sustainable cooling, which provides the scientific foundation for the Global Cooling Pledge. Set for launch at COP30, the second edition builds on the 2023 baseline, focusing on how rising extreme heat and the urgent need for equitable access to cooling can be met through integrated solutions across buildings, cities, and cold chains. “Global Cooling Watch 2025 introduces the Sustainable Cooling Hierarchy and the Tiered Access Framework, both designed to guide countries in delivering equitable cooling access, while accelerating the shift toward near-zero emissions,” Abdelaziz explained.
National and Regional Leadership in Action
The session shifted focus from global delivery to local implementation, beginning with Viet Nam’s efforts to translate national ambition into on-the-ground action. Dr. Nguyen Dang Thu Cuc, National Ozone Coordinator at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, shared how the country is piloting Urban Cooling Action Plans in Can Tho and Tam Ky to integrate sustainable cooling into urban design. “Our goal is to embed cooling into every level of decision-making, from updated building codes to city masterplans, so these solutions become standard,” she said. Supported by heat mapping and climate modelling, the pilots offer a model for aligning passive and nature-based approaches with national climate goals.
From Viet Nam to India, Anant Shukla, Lead Expert at UNEP United for Efficiency, presented the UK–Haryana Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Crop Post-Harvest Management and Cold-Chain as a replicable model linking smallholder farmers with efficient cold chain systems. The Centre provides technical training, showcases clean technologies, and connects entrepreneurs to business development support across the horticulture value chain. “Our aim is to close the infrastructure and capacity gap from farm to market, ensuring food security, reducing emissions, and building rural resilience,” Shukla said. Complementing this work, UNEP has recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with Haryana’s Department of Horticulture to co-develop the state’s first cold chain policy, aimed at scaling sustainable infrastructure, reducing food loss, and expanding rural livelihoods.
Moving to the broader urban–rural divide in cooling access, Ben Hartley, Programme Manager for Cooling for All at Sustainable Energy for All, underscored the need for differentiated, equity-driven solutions. Drawing on insights from the 2025 Chilling Prospects report, he pointed out that while urban centres may benefit from public cooling shelters and heat health systems, rural areas require reliable cold chains and community-level cold storage. “With 1.2 billion at high risk due to lack of access to cooling, the cooling gap is about who gets left behind when we plan only for the average,” he remarked.
Guidelines, Tools, and Policy Alignment
The discussion turned to the mechanics of delivery, with Dr. Sanyogita Manu, Passive Cooling Specialist at UNEP, presenting the forthcoming Global Guidelines for Passive Cooling, a new framework to help mainstream passive and nature-based solutions into policy and planning. “Passive cooling is essential because it reduces energy demand, lowers emissions, and protects vulnerable populations from extreme heat,” noted Manu. Developed through a global consultative process, the Guidelines outline six core principles to help policymakers embed passive cooling into building codes, urban planning, and infrastructure design. The publication will be accompanied by practical implementation support, including regional roadmaps, training materials, and case studies, to ensure the Guidelines translate into action on the ground.
Continuing the focus on practical enablers of sustainable cooling, Stephanie Egger Haysmith, Communications and Information Officer at the Ozone Secretariat, introduced the Online Policy Toolkit for Sustainable Cooling, jointly developed by the Ozone Secretariat and the UNEP Cool Coalition. Designed as a go-to resource for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, the toolkit breaks down global commitments under the Montreal Protocol, Kigali Amendment, and Global Cooling Pledge. “The modular toolkit will cover topics from refrigerant transition and energy efficiency to capacity-building for the servicing sector, with content tailored through regional consultations to meet diverse country needs,” Haysmith explained. Set for launch at COP30, it will be available on both the Ozone Secretariat and Cool Coalition websites.
Patrick Blake, Climate and Energy Manager at UNEP United for Efficiency, presented efforts to advance minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and green public procurement for cooling appliances, two of the highest-impact levers for reducing emissions and improving efficiency. “Stronger MEPS and strategic procurement are how we shift markets at scale, and quickly,” said Blake, who also serves as facilitator for the Cool Coalition MEPS Working Group. He highlighted country-level progress, including Nigeria’s national MEPS roadmap and Malaysia’s updated mandates under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, as examples of regulatory momentum. Blake also previewed forthcoming procurement guidelines for air conditioners and heat pumps, designed to help governments align public tenders with climate goals while creating demand signals for higher efficiency and cleaner refrigerants.
Closing the segment on technical tools, Denise San Valentin, Programme Management Officer at the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), discussed lifecycle refrigerant management (LRM), a critical strategy for reducing emissions across the cooling value chain. “Effective refrigerant management can avoid emissions equivalent to billions of tonnes of CO₂, and it’s one of the few interventions that can deliver climate, air quality, and health benefits simultaneously,” said San Valentin. The CCAC co-leads the Cool Coalition LRM Working Group, together with the Governments of Japan and the Maldives. The group supports countries in strengthening policies and infrastructure for the recovery, reclamation, and destruction of refrigerants, while coordinating action among Global Cooling Pledge signatories.
Finance, Data, and Delivery
Next up, the conversation transitioned to how tools and policies can be financed and brought to scale. Saima Zuberi, Senior Consultant for Cooling and Eco-Industrial Parks at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), shared insights from the UK-funded Sustainable Cooling Initiative, jointly implemented by IFC and UNEP under the leadership of Rusmir Musić. Drawing on Kenya as a case study, where nearly 40% of food is lost due to lack of reliable cold storage, Zuberi outlined the $2.1 billion investment opportunity in sustainable cold chains. “Sustainable cold chains touch on all aspects of life, as they can cut food loss, increase farmer incomes, create jobs, and strengthen national food security,” Zuberi noted. She also highlighted IFC’s platforms EDGE and GRIP as key enablers to accelerate private-sector engagement and unlock cooling investments where they are needed most.
Strategic Engagement
The final segment turned to concrete strategies for elevating sustainable cooling on the global agenda. Marisofi Giannouli, Communications Lead at the UNEP Cool Coalition, outlined the Coalition’s two-pronged communications strategy for COP30, targeting both policymakers and the wider public. While decision-makers increasingly recognise the urgency of sustainable cooling, many still lack the tools and clarity to act. In parallel, public awareness remains low, despite cooling’s critical links to health, development, and equity. “We’re bridging that gap by promoting actionable solutions to governments and showing the public why cooling matters for their lives and futures,” Giannouli explained. Flagship moments will include a high-level launch of the Beat the Heat Implementation Drive with the COP30 Presidency at the beginning of the conference, the release of Global Cooling Watch 2025 in a dedicated press conference, and the second Global Cooling Pledge Ministerial that is set for 18 November. Throughout COP30, the COP30 Buildings and Cooling Pavilion will feature sessions in the Bairro do Mutirão Urbano, a first-of-its-kind neighbourhood dedicated to cities, infrastructure, buildings, water, and cooling. The full list of Cool Coalition engagements at COP30 is available here.
Dimitris Karamitsos, Senior Energy Efficiency Business Development Specialist at the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE), closed the session presenting insights from the newly-established Cool Coalition District Cooling Working Group. “District cooling can offer up to 50% energy savings compared to conventional solutions, but scaling it requires clear policies, viable business models, and strong local partnerships,” he stressed. The Working Group, launched in 2024, aims to strengthen alignment and peer learning among countries advancing district cooling solutions, while raising the visibility of high-impact projects in global climate processes. Upcoming outputs include implementation guidance for policymakers, a compendium of case studies showcasing successful models from cities around the world, and dedicated programming at COP30.
Closing Reflections and the Road to Belém
In their closing remarks, moderators Andrea Voigt and Graeme Maidment were joined by Lily Riahi to reflect on the importance of unity, visibility, and delivery, with just three weeks remaining until COP30. They thanked members for their contributions and reaffirmed the Cool Coalition’s role as a vital platform to accelerate implementation and align action across sectors. “No single actor can deliver climate resilience alone,” Riahi noted. “Our impact depends on working together, sharing what works, and scaling it.”
Governments, cities, businesses, financial institutions, and civil society groups interested in joining the Cool Coalition can apply here.