Cool Leaders, a roadmap and nature for cooling: Global Cooling Pledge acts on heat

• Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and business leader Dong Mingzhu named inaugural Cool Leaders
• Brazil, Cambodia and Côte d'Ivoire launch an innovative challenge to cool communities through nature
• Financial support, new partnerships, a global roadmap and an industry platform boost heat resilience and sustainable cooling action worldwide announced during the Global Cooling Pledge Assembly in Singapore

Singapore, 17 September 2026 – As extreme heat becomes one of the deadliest and fastest-growing climate risks worldwide, governments, cities, industry leaders and philanthropic foundations today announced a package of new measures to accelerate action on sustainable cooling and heat resilience; among these measures are the inaugural Cool Leaders award, a global Heat Resilience Roadmap, and a Nature for Cooling Challenge.

Global demand for cooling is rising rapidly. By 2050, the number of air conditioners worldwide is expected to reach 5.6 billion, nearly three times today's levels, underscoring the need for cooling solutions that protect people from extreme heat without driving a surge in energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.

Announced at the Global Cooling Pledge Assembly 2026 in Singapore, the measures mark a significant step in turning Global Cooling Pledge commitments into real-world action.

Recognising leadership on cooling and heat resilience

A highlight of the Assembly was the launch of the inaugural Cool Leaders awards, recognising outstanding leadership in advancing sustainable cooling and protecting people from extreme heat. The first Cool Leaders are:

• Singapore, for leadership in passive cooling and heat resilience.
• The United Arab Emirates, for leadership in district cooling and advancing cooling in global climate and development policy.
• Dong Mingzhu, Chairwoman of Gree Electric Appliances, for spearheading of the development ultra-efficient, low-carbon cooling technologies, including the Zero Carbon Source air-conditioning system.

“The Global Cooling Pledge was created to address rising cooling demand and escalating heat risks through passive cooling solutions, super-efficient technologies and climate-friendly refrigerants,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Three years later, the world has never understood the danger of extreme heat better. The urgent challenge ahead of us is rapidly scaling sustainable cooling solutions that protect people, strengthen resilience and reduce emissions.”

Leveraging nature to protect people from extreme heat

Brazil, Cambodia and Côte d'Ivoire have joined the Nature for Cooling Challenge, an innovative competition that will help cities and developers harness nature to tackle extreme heat. Led by UNEP and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and backed by a US$3 million Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant and 33 million in co-financing, the initiative will identify and support promising projects using urban forests, parks, green roofs and other nature-based solutions that can reduce peak summer temperatures by up to 5°C.

A first global roadmap for heat resilience

At the Assembly, governments began shaping the Global Roadmap on Heat Resilience for a Warming World, a flexible framework to help countries build resilience to extreme heat, safeguard essential services, and reduce the climate impact of cooling. The roadmap will set out practical approaches to protect people from extreme heat and strengthen critical systems including schools, hospitals, workplaces, and energy infrastructure. By integrating adaptation, resilience, and mitigation objectives into a single framework, the roadmap aims to help countries better prepare for rising temperatures while working towards broader climate goals.

New manufacturing platform launched with first sets of commitments

The Assembly introduced the Manufacturing Platform, a new voluntary initiative convened under the Cool Coalition and operationalized by UNEP’s United for Efficiency, that brings together governments and manufacturers to increase the availability of efficient cooling equipment and accelerate the transition towards low- and ultra-low-Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants.

The platform will help align policy ambition with industry investment, support countries implementing cooling strategies, and provide a mechanism for participating companies to set measurable commitments and transparently report progress.

Gree joined the platform to advance energy efficiency as well as the development and application of ultra-low-GWP refrigerant technologies.

Turning ambition into action

The Assembly also marked the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee on Cooling, a coordination mechanism to help track and accelerate implementation of the Global Cooling Pledge.

To help turn that ambition into action, financial support from government, multilateral and philanthropic organizations is being mobilized to help countries and cities implement sustainable cooling solutions. Contributors include Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. Philanthropies like the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, through its Clean Cooling Collaborative program, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Sequoia Climate Foundation have also committed or intend to commit funding.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The UN Environment Programme is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

About the Cool Coalition

The UNEP-led Cool Coalition is a global multi-stakeholder network that connects a wide range of key actors from government, cities, international organizations, businesses, finance, academia, and civil society groups to facilitate knowledge exchange, advocacy and joint action towards a rapid global transition to sustainable cooling.

About the Global Cooling Pledge

Launched at COP28 in 2023, the Global Cooling Pledge is the world’s first collective global commitment to reduce the climate impact of cooling while expanding access to sustainable cooling. It aims to reduce cooling-related emissions by at least 68 per cent below 2022 levels by 2050, significantly increase access to sustainable cooling by 2030, and collectively increase the global average efficiency rating of new air-conditioning equipment sold by 50 per cent by 2030 from the global 2022 installed baseline.

For inquiries or to request additional information/interviews, contact the UNEP News and Media Unit: unep-newsdesk@un.org

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