Building Momentum Around COP30 Pavilion Themes
As planning for the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) enters the homestretch, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Cool Coalition convened the third edition of their COP30 Buildings and Cooling Pavilion webinar, offering partners strategic updates, and aligning them with engagement opportunities ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly.
Moderator Marisofi Giannouli, Communications Lead at the UNEP Cool Coalition opened the session framing the Pavilion as a collective effort to highlight the essential role of the built environment and sustainable cooling as pillars of climate mitigation and adaptation. With the COP30 official thematic days now confirmed, underscored the importance of unified messaging and inclusive narratives that reflect local realities and drive systems change.
Teresa Arístegui, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s DG Energy, delivered the keynote speech, outlining Europe’s strategic climate positioning in the lead-up to COP30. She reiterated the European Union’s (EU) commitment to delivering on the 1.5°C goal through stronger NDCs, tripled renewables, doubled efficiency, and scaled-up investment via the Global Gateway. Arístegui noted that COP30 needs to be a space where delivery is demonstrated, and invited collaboration around the EU’s Global Energy Transitions Forum as a venue for showcasing implementation.
The session then transitioned into a panel discussion, where speakers explored public, private, and financial pathways to scale energy-efficient solutions
Rusmir Musić, Global Cooling Lead & Climate Finance Expert at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), shared insights from IFC’s recent roadshows in Brazil and Africa, where demand for bankable building and cooling solutions is growing. Musić stressed the impact of non-fiscal incentives, such as fast permitting and zoning bonuses, in unlocking investment and catalysing local action, referencing successful models in cities like Lima. These strategies, he noted, are especially relevant for COP30’s host region, where public and private actors are looking for replicable models to translate pledges into action.
Expanding on the technical potential, Yuki Ohtsuka of Daikin’s CSR & Global Environment Center, focused on the climate potential of energy-efficient HVAC solutions. She highlighted inverter air conditioners and heat pumps as key technologies for decarbonizing buildings and called for updates of energy efficiency regulation and standards, expanded labelling schemes, and better electricity–gas price alignment to drive adoption. Ohtsuka also reaffirmed Daikin’s support for the Global Cooling Pledge, the world’s first collective commitment to reducing cooling-related emissions, and emphasized the importance of public–private–academic collaboration to advance innovation and policy together.
Building on the theme of innovation, Dr. Vincent Y. Chen, Deputy CEO of the Delta Electronics Foundation, shared how Delta is embedding climate action through digital tools, education, and real-world demonstration. He introduced the foundation’s AI-powered LEED assistant and net-zero campuses in Taiwan, which operate as living labs for passive design, renewables, and community engagement. In commercial and industrial spaces, Dr. Chen noted that AI-driven cooling optimisation and advanced liquid cooling are already helping factories and data centres reduce emissions while enhancing performance, offering scalable models for transformation.
GlobalABC Programmes Expert Maliya Lazli and Marisofi Giannouli closed the panel, walking participants through UNEP’s deliverables at COP30. Lazli highlighted GlobalABC’s leadership in the Action for Climate Empowerment track, and its role in co-leading the Activation Group on sustainable buildings and resilient construction. Giannouli presented Beat the Heat in Cities, an implementation drive that the Cool Coalition is launching with the COP30 Presidency to accelerate national-to-local-level solutions for extreme heat and sustainable cooling, translating the Global Cooling Pledge into local action. She also previewed the publication of the Global Cooling Watch 2025, UNEP’s biennial report on sustainable cooling, which provides the scientific foundation for the Global Cooling Pledge and tracks global progress toward its implementation.
In the Q&A session that followed, Arístegui and Musić shared views on how governments and financiers can help scale buildings and cooling solutions. Musić stressed the importance of empowered subnational leadership and highlighted Lima’s permitting reforms as a standout example. Arístegui added that governments must use political moments like COP30 to communicate ambition and back it up with real projects and integrated NDCs. On the role of industry, Ohtsuka called for stronger coordination and smart regulation to bring innovations to scale, while Dr. Chen advocated for openness and shared learning as key to enabling widespread systems change.
Giannouli closed the session by thanking all speakers and participants, reiterating the Pavilion’s ambition to serve as a platform for real, inclusive implementation. Stakeholders are invited to share updates on their planned COP30 activities, and indicate whether they are seeking accommodation or open to sharing with others.
The fourth COP30 Buildings and Cooling Pavilion webinar is scheduled for 9 October.
Yuki Ohtsuka’s presentation is available here.
Dr Vincent Y Chen’s presentation is available here.