Date: Tuesday, 17 January 2023 Time: 09:30 – 11:00 am GST Event Language: English
Format: In-person roundtable event
Location: Nakheel Private Room, Delegate Dining Area, ADNEC Hall 10 (Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Venue)
Organized by: Sustainable Energy for All, Cool Coalition
In partnership with: Cool Up (Guide House)
Event description
Around 30 percent of the global population is exposed to life-threatening heat for at least 20 days a year.
Nutritious agricultural crops and life-saving vaccines are also under threat. It is estimated that a lack of sustainable cold chains, including freezers and refrigeration, directly results in 526 million tons of food production loss every year, a factor that also contributes to the 15 percent reduction in smallholder farmers’ income.
In a warming world, access to sustainable cooling is therefore essential to guarantee health, food security, and nutrition, with hundreds of millions facing cooling access risk
Yet, growth in electricity demand linked to cooling could dramatically increase carbon emissions.
Innovation that both meets cooling needs affordably while addressing climate change will be key to ensure a fair and just energy transition.
To support progress and elevate sustainable cooling for a ‘Cool COP,’ SEforALL and the Cool Coalition will partner to host a roundtable discussion on the potential for cooling innovation to contribute to the political goals set by the COP 28 Presidency the previous day.
This includes technology, but also innovation in passive solutions, new business model solutions, and financing tools that can accelerate progress. The session will highlight new initiatives, such as the ‘Beat the Heat Challenge,’ focus on the catalyzing role of youth, and leverage the solution oriented the #ThisIsCool solutions campaign.
The goal of the session is to provide a forum to development practitioners and industry leaders to reflect on the political direction set out by the COP 28 Presidency on sustainable cooling and provide their perspectives on how cooling innovation can support these goals. The session will cover both adaptation and mitigation, and how sustainable cooling can contribute to both overarching goals.
Objectives
- Introduce sustainable cooling as a key potential outcome for COP 28 and the need to deliver sustainable cooling for all in order to meet development and climate goals
- Share perspectives from governments, organizations and youth on sustainable cooling innovations that increase access to cooling in a warming world.
- Identify pathways for the scaling of cooling innovation in 2023.
