The Green Cooling Summit 2026, jointly organized by the German Environment Agency and GIZ Proklima, focused on why R290 is still struggling in room air conditioning and how it can become a standard technology. The virtual event reviewed the global transition toward sustainable cooling and heating in buildings with natural refrigerants.
In her keynote, Dr. Yosr Allouche of the International Institute of Refrigeration said achieving Kigali Implementation Plan targets requires a sector-wide shift to R290 in air conditioners and heat pumps. She cited the low GWP and high energy efficiency of green room air conditioners, as well as progress in technician training, safety standards, policy frameworks and production lines. The summit also noted that transformation to green cooling in buildings is still lagging.
Country representatives Joseph Baffoe of EPA Ghana and William Melau of NOU Kenya said R290 air conditioner market share must grow to meet HFC reduction targets under the Kigali Implementation Plan. They said R290 split air conditioners are the future, while countries such as Ghana and Kenya need full access to the technology and adequate cooling capacity. They also noted that global unit costs for efficient R290 systems remain too high.
Financing was presented as a key part of the transition. Assad Nissar of the International Finance Corporation said cooling sits in a structural blind spot for lenders and investors. Luiza Linton of agradblue discussed sustainable taxonomies and said more technical GWP criteria for refrigerants should enter taxonomies worldwide with input from the cooling community. Samuel Jacobs of Energy Partners Refrigeration presented servitization as an instrument for scale.
Policy and safety frameworks were also discussed. Sebastian Schnatz of BMUKN presented Europe and the EU F-Gas Regulation as an example of balancing bans and incentives with investment certainty. Readlay Makaliki of SACREEE said MEPS are an effective tool for countries to influence appliance stock and future electricity consumption, ideally at regional level. Dr. Daniel Colbourne of Re-Phridge said perceived risks of R290 are not realistic in relation to empirical evidence, while Zhoulun Chen of UNEP highlighted the role of building codes.
The summit also covered chillers with natural refrigerants. Ivo Eiermann of Johnson Controls presented chillers with natural refrigerants as a viable alternative to replace HFC-based split air conditioning appliances in commercial buildings. Ahmad Arabiat of PETRA emphasized R290 as a solution for large-capacity air conditioning units. The session stated that technology using R290 or R717 is available worldwide and can be operated safely when safety rules are followed.
