Publications

The Guidelines for Passive Cooling Strategies in Cambodia provide a practical, climate-responsive resource to support the design and delivery of buildings that reduce reliance on mechanical cooling while ensuring thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort. Tailored to Cambodia’s hot-humid context, the publication offers clear guidance on the selection, application, and integration of passive cooling strategies at site, building, and component levels. Drawing on technical analysis, building typologies, and real-world demonstration projects, the Guidelines bridge theory and practice and support architects, engineers, policymakers, and other stakeholders in embedding passive cooling into building design, regulations, and implementation, contributing to lower energy demand, reduced emissions, and improved urban resilience.

The publication presents practical, low-cost passive cooling approaches to help Tamil Nadu’s government schools create healthier, more heat-resilient learning environments. It explains how measures such as cool roofs, natural shading, improved ventilation, heat-resilient materials and greenery can reduce indoor heat, improve thermal comfort and support student health, learning and energy efficiency. The publication also provides practical guidance for schools, teachers, students and government, including a five-step approach to creating cooler classrooms and recommendations for low-cost retrofits.

The publication presents key learnings from Tamil Nadu’s Green Schools Programme and its cool roof pilot at Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ambattur. It highlights how cool roofs can provide a low-cost, scalable passive cooling solution for schools, with the pilot recording indoor temperature reductions of around 3–4°C. It also outlines opportunities to integrate cool roofs with complementary measures such as shading, natural ventilation, vegetation and rooftop solar, supporting the wider adoption of passive cooling across government schools in Tamil Nadu.

The second edition of UNEP’s Global Cooling Watch Report takes a deep dive into one of the decade’s most urgent challenges: surging heat, soaring cooling demand, and stark inequalities in access.  Building on the 2023 edition’s analysis of global sustainable cooling trends, the report provides the scientific foundation for the Global Cooling Pledge and charts pathways toward near-zero emissions from cooling. 

Extreme heat is reshaping life in cities. For millions of people, especially in fast-growing urban areas of the Global South, higher temperatures are making it harder to earn a living, attend school, access healthcare, or move safely throughout the day. Extreme urban heat and lack of sustainable cooling is threatening productivity, deepening inequality, and increasing the risk of displacement when communities can no longer cope. Cities cannot afford to treat extreme heat as a seasonal inconvenience. Without action, heat will erode livelihoods and overwhelm urban infrastructure and services. It will fuel unemployment, drive internal and cross-border migration, and put massive demands on energy systems. Cities must act now to manage rising temperatures before it is too late. The Handbook on Urban Heat Management in the Global South, developed by the World Bank in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), offers a practical response. It brings together real examples and strategies from cities that are already tackling extreme heat. It focuses on powerful solutions that are feasible, affordable, and easy to adapt - especially those that expand access to accessible, sustainable cooling.

A practical framework for integrating sustainable cooling into national climate commitments. This guide provides a six-step approach for embedding sustainable cooling into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), supported by case studies and technical tools. It includes guidance on emissions assessments, target-setting, policy design, and implementation of measures such as MEPS, refrigerant phase-down, and passive cooling strategies.

As India and many other countries face intensifying extreme heat, the need for robust, city-level Heat Action Plans (HAPs) has become urgent. In February 2025, the UNEP Cool Coalition partnered with India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to co-host an international workshop focused on advancing HAPs as tools for both emergency response and long-term heat resilience.

Bringing together over 15 Cool Coalition partners and global experts, the workshop showcased best practices such as passive cooling, Urban Heat Island mapping, and the Chief Heat Officer model. Key outcomes included strengthening coordination across governance levels, scaling innovative cooling for vulnerable populations, and integrating sustainable cooling into urban redesign.

The Compendium for Passive Cooling Strategies in Cambodia serves as a practical guide for integrating passive cooling strategies into Cambodia’s building sector. Tailored for architects, engineers, building owners, and professionals in construction and maintenance, it highlights three key types of strategies: site-oriented, design-oriented, and material/technology-oriented measures. Each section offers clear technical insights, practical application steps, and helpful tools to assist in selecting the most effective passive cooling options for projects. Beyond the core strategies, the compendium also includes a material directory and international case studies, providing additional support for the successful adoption of these solutions. 

The Compendium was developed and published by the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia. This work was made possible through the technical and financial support of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cool Coalition, and the ClimateWorks Foundation, whose contributions were crucial to its development.

This first official progress report outlines country actions and sectoral efforts taken in support of the Global Cooling Pledge. It highlights policy updates, implementation milestones, and early results from national commitments, providing a snapshot of collective momentum toward sustainable and equitable cooling. The Global Cooling Pledge Progress Report 2024 was endorsed during the inaugural Cooling Ministerial Dialogue, held at the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29).

2030 Global Cooling Pledge Implementation Strategy outlines the strategy that will guide the UNEP Cool Coalition’s approach to supporting the implementation of the Global Cooling Pledge and/or the implementation of the Recommendations of the Global Cooling Watch Report for those countries who are not Pledge signatories, with a view to 2030.