Background

Extreme heat is emerging as the defining climate risk of this decade. According to the 2023 Global Cooling Watch, cooling-sector emissions could surge to 6.1 gigatonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2050, which is more than 10 per cent of projected global emissions, unless efficiency is doubled, passive measures are scaled, and high-global-warming-potential refrigerants are rapidly phased down. At the same time, over one billion people still lack access to adequate cooling, jeopardizing lives, food, medicines and economic productivity.

Cooling is therefore a frontline adaptation necessity, but only sustainable cooling, built on efficient equipment, climate-friendly refrigerants and demand-reduction strategies, can avoid further warming. Most conventional units still rely on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases that must be rapidly replaced to meet climate goals.

To accelerate this transition, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-convened Cool Coalition, brings together over 250 governments, cities, companies and financiers to advance a triple strategy of reducing cooling through passive design, improving energy efficiency, and shifting to low-GWP refrigerants in line with the Kigali Amendment and Paris Agreement. At the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the Cool Coalition launched the Global Cooling Pledge, the first collective target to cut cooling-related emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 and extend equitable access by 2030. The Pledge currently numbers more than 70 country Signatories and 80 non-state supporters.

The International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) further underpins the transition to sustainable cooling, as the only intergovernmental body dedicated to refrigeration. It publishes authoritative research on low-GWP refrigerants and system efficiency, develops global safety and performance standards adopted by ISO and national regulators, and trains engineers and policymakers to modernize cold chains for food, health and industry. These technical foundations ensure that policy ambition translates into implementable solutions.

2025 is a pivotal year for climate action. As countries submit their third iteration of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0) under the Paris Agreement, they will shape the global trajectory toward 2030. Recognizing the need to help countries meaningfully integrate cooling into their climate strategies, the Cool Coalition, together with the Clean Cooling Collaborative, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP), GIZ Proklima, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), HEAT GmbH, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and UNEP Ozone Secretariat, have developed the Guidelines for Integrating the Cooling Sector into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0), referred to as the “NDC Cooling Guidelines”. These Guidelines provide policymakers with a practical roadmap for embedding sustainable cooling into their climate commitments, anchoring future capacity-building efforts, training programs, and field pilot projects to ensure real-world implementation in Global Cooling Pledge Signatory countries and beyond.

This side event, convened jointly by the UNEP Cool Coalition and the IIR, brings together government representatives and sustainable development experts to officially launch the NDC Cooling Guidelines, and foster high-level dialogue on how sustainable cooling can be embedded in national adaptation strategies, integrated into forthcoming NDC revisions, and delivered under the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), the Paris Agreement’s collective target to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability. The event will also examine how the two-year UAE–Belém Work Programme on the GGA, which was launched at COP28 and will culminate at COP30, can catalyze finance, technology-transfer and knowledge-sharing, turning sustainable cooling into a pillar of resilience rather than a source of additional warming.

Objectives

• Position sustainable cooling as an essential, integrated pillar of adaptation within NDCs 3.0, National Cooling Action Plans, urban heat-action plans, and the Global Goal on Adaptation, emphasising co-benefits for public health, food security, and economic resilience.
• Formally launch the NDC Cooling Guidelines and delineate their principal recommendations for policymakers, technical experts, development partners, private-sector executives, and financial institutions.
• Exhibit exemplary national leadership and best practice, illustrating how governments are deploying passive design, high-efficiency technologies, and low-GWP refrigerants to address rising extreme heat and advance climate objectives.
• Highlight the Global Cooling Pledge and the IIR’s roles in guiding countries toward low-GWP sustainable cooling solutions through policy, technology, and capacity-building.
• Announce forthcoming capacity-building programmes and implementation support mechanisms designed to translate the Guidelines into measurable, on-the-ground results, particularly for Global Cooling Pledge Signatories.
• Facilitate high-level dialogue and cross-sector collaboration among governments, international organisations, financial institutions, and technical partners, with a view to mobilising resources and scaling equitable, climate-aligned cooling solutions globally.