Global cooling report launches on 11 November at COP30 in Belém, Brazil

A report launched on 11 November at COP30 in Belém, Brazil by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) shows that amid rising heat waves and surging cooling demand, adopting sustainable cooling could cut greenhouse gas emissions, save trillions of dollars and expand life-saving cooling access to those who need it.

Speaking at the launch of the report, UNEP’s Executive Director Inger Andersen said, “access to cooling must be treated as an essential piece of infrastructure alongside water, energy and sanitation. Because cooling saves lives and keeps economies and schools and hospitals running.” Nevertheless, Andersen said, “they can’t air conditioning way out of this heat crisis,” as this would “drive up greenhouse gases, raise costs, cause grid overload and essentially peak demand.”