The Cool Coalition Secretariat and partners are hosting and joining multiple events at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).
COP26 will take place from the 31st of October to the 12th of November 2021. COP stands for Conference of the Parties. Parties are the signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty agreed in 1994 which has 197 Parties (196 countries and the EU). The 2021 conference, hosted by the UK, together with our partners Italy, in Glasgow, will be the 26th meeting of the Parties, which is why it’s called COP26. United Nations climate change conferences are among the largest international meetings in the world. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
You can follow the Cool Coalition’s collective mobilization and advocacy at COP26 virtually from everywhere you are. A preliminary list of Cool Coalition events is available below.
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Sustainable Cold Chain for the People, For the Planet: Addressing Climate Change, Hunger and Energy
Date: Tuesday 2 November 2021 Time: 10.10-11.00 am GMT Running Time: 45 mins
Hosted by: UN Environment Programme-led Cool Coalition, United For Efficiency, Sustainable Energy For All Location: Nordic Pavilion, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Link: https://www.wedonthavetime.org/event/cop26#nov2
Context: Lack of effective cold chain is estimated to directly result in losses of 475 million tonnes or 13% of total food production. The food that is currently produced and not eaten results in 8% of the global total greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, refrigeration equipment used in the food cold-chain is responsible for 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Acting on sustainable cold chain offers a multi-faceted win for people and the planet, and is key to achieve the SDGs and Paris Agreement goals. Ensuring local and global “field to fork” connectivity can help nutritiously feed 10 billion people sustainably, support the wellbeing of millions of small- scale farmers, and mitigate food loss and wastage. This session aims at highlighting why climate action must sensibly include strategies to expand and transition to sustainable cold chains to reduce emissions from food loss and increase resilience, while delivering on rural development, energy access, community resilience, food security, nutrition and health. Our hope is that the exchange of insights and best practices will inspire commitments to transformational action on sustainable food cold chains at COP26 and beyond.
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Beat the Heat: Cool Cities for a Cooler Future
Date: Wednesday 3 November 2021 Time: 12:30-13:00 pm GMT Running Time: 30 mins Location: Nordic Pavilion, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Hosted By: UNEP-led Cool Coalition, with support by the Clean Cooling Collaborative, Rocky Mountain Institute, Mission Innovation and the Global Covenant of Mayors
Link: https://www.wedonthavetime.org/event/cop26#nov3
Context: Cities are the places where humanity’s greatest challenges impact the most people. This is increasingly the case for climate change: the world’s cities are heating up at twice the global average rate due to urban heat island effect. By 2100, cities across the world could warm as much as 4.4°C on average. Without intervention, this rising heat will have catastrophic impacts on the health, comfort and resilience of all urban communities. To counter urban heat and its effects, cities need to urgently adopt strategies to reduce heat at urban scale and cooling needs in buildings, serve cooling needs in sustainable and efficient ways. This session will showcase tools and solutions cities can use to tackle urban heat in sustainable and comprehensive ways, to protect the people and the planet alike. The Cool Coalition will launch the Sustainable Urban Cooling Handbook, a new tool that provides actionable guidance for cities to organize and prioritize action towards sustainable and equitable urban cooling.
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Carbon Neutral Construction in Nordic Cities: Networks for Co-Creation and Impact
Date: Wednesday 3 November 2021 Time: 11:00am -12:30 pm GMT Running Time: 90 mins Location: Nordic Pavilion, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Organizers: City of Lahti, Kuntaliitto (Association of Finnish Municipalities), Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center (ACCC), University of Helsinki
Link: https://www.wedonthavetime.org/event/cop26#nov3
Description: The Nordics are developing carbon neutral construction in cities that incorporate climate actions, citizens wellbeing, thriving milieu for business, participatory governance and science-based services. The strength lies in building networks for collaboration with the cities’ multi-stakeholders. We discuss best practices, identify gaps, and showcase examples of Nordic cities. https://www.norden.org/en/event/glasgow-carbon-neutral-construction-nordic-cities-networks-co-creation-and-impact.
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COP26 Energy Day Presidency event: Panel Discussion on Product Efficiency: The world’s first fuel – making the clean energy transition faster, easier and more cost-effective
Date: Thursday 4 November 2021 Time: 12:00 to 13:15pm GMT Running Time: 75 mins Location: UK Pavilion, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Hosted By: SEAD Initiative, CLASP, IEA, UK BEIS, Cool Coalition Event Page: https://superefficient.org/events/sead-event-on-cop26-energy-day Livestream: https://youtu.be/ZldgSXR0JUA
Description: This event will showcase how, through the reinvigorated SEAD initiative and the UK-IEA COP26 Product Efficiency Call to Action, governments, business, NGOS and consumers are working to double the efficiency of four key appliances globally ahead of 2030.
The event will feature keynote speeches from Rt Hon Greg Hands MP (UK Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth) and Dr Fatih Birol (Executive Director of the IEA). A panel discussion, chaired by Helen Clarkson (CEO, The Climate Group) and featuring international political and business leaders, will follow.
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Cooler Homes, Stronger Communities
Date: Monday, 8 November 2021 Time: 14:00 to 14:45 GMT Running Time: 45 mins Location: SEforALL Pavilion, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Organizers: Ashden, Clean Cooling Collaborative, UN Environment Programme-led Cool Coalition Registration: https://webapp.spotme.com/welcome/secaa21
Soaring heat creates danger in homes and neighbourhoods around the world, and people already marginalised are at greatest risk. Communities and grassroots innovators are taking action – but how can those in power support cooler homes for all? This event, taking place at the COP26 climate summit’s SDG7 Pavilion and streaming live online, will highlight exciting sustainable cooling solutions in India, Rwanda and Egypt and Colombia – and explore how these can be replicated and scaled up around the world. Enjoy discussion and presentations from frontline organisations, and the screening of inspiring short films. The session will strengthen the links between cooling and development priorities such as poverty reduction, gender equality and better health, and explore how marginalised communities can be empowered to create change. We will ask how governments, city and state leaders and global organisations from a range of sectors can unlock the finance and policy action needed to create radical progress.
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Integrated Urban Climate Action Aligned to 1.5°C: Exploring overlooked opportunities
Date: Wednesday, 10 November 2021 Time: 14:30-15:15 pm GMT Running Time: 45 mins Location: WWF Panda Hub, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Organizers: WWF Climate Event Page: https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/climate_and_energy_practice/cop26/ Streaming link: https://www.youtube.com/user/WWFClimate
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Sustainable and Efficient Cooling for a Warming Planet: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions
Date: Wednesday, 10 November 2021 Time: 16:45 to 18:00 GMT Running Time: 75 mins Location: COP-26 Blue Zone, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Organizers: Japan, OECC, Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy, Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), UNEP-led Cool Coalition
Context: As the planet warms the need for sustainable cooling for all is growing. This event examines how the cooling sector can improve climate outcomes through end-of-life disposal of hydrofluorocarbons, improved efficiency, and increased speed and ambition to phase out high global warming refrigerants.
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Cooling: Concrete Options to Raise Ambition and Action – The Case of Cities
Date: Thursday, 11 November 2021 Time: 10:00 to 11:30 am GMT Running Time: 90 minutes Location: French Pavilion, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoW8sG5JRWlVWt3DoUS0XyT80bF58Wkd9
This side-event, organised by France, is an opportunity to highlight the climate impacts associated with the growing need for cooling (air conditioning and refrigeration), due both to the refrigerants used (mostly greenhouse gases) and to the energy consumption associated with the use of equipment.
Two resource documents will be presented on this occasion: One highlighting French actions in the field of cooling, based on the 5 themes of the COP (nature, adaptation and resilience, energy transition, transport, finance); The other, produced by ADEME and AFD, focusing on cooling in cities, based on sixteen concrete experiences in different geographical and climatic areas of the world. During a round table discussion, local authorities, French and international experts will be able to share their experiences in reducing cooling needs in cities.
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Be Bold: Sustainable Cooling for All
Date: Thursday, 11 November 2021 Time: 14:00 to 14:45 GMT Running Time: 45 mins Location: SEforALL Pavilion, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Organizers: Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, UN Environment Programme-led Cool Coalition Link: https://webapp.spotme.com/welcome/secaa21
Context: In a warming world, meeting our climate change and sustainable development goals can’t be achieved without It means providing affordable, clean and climate friendly cooling solutions to address the needs of the most vulnerable. This includes technologies, services, policies and financial solutions that can cool a city, building and transport. Delivering them systematically, and on a needs-driven basis can lower the energy demand and emissions for cooling while protecting people from heat, safeguarding their COVID-19 vaccine, and keeping food nutritious from farm to fork. This side event will target policymakers and solution providers that are able to support increasing access to cooling through affordable, clean and climate friendly cooling solutions.
