As part of the global project Cool Contributions fighting Climate Change II (C4 II), a series of webinars has been initiated to address a critical aspect of climate action: integrating the cooling sector into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The sessions serve as a platform to disseminate tools, methods and best practice examples to incorporate cooling strategies into the national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, highlighting the pivotal role of the cooling sector in achieving these targets.
The importance of the cooling sector in shaping more ambitious and robust NDCs cannot be overstated. With the refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) sector accounting for over 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is imperative to address both direct emissions from refrigerants and indirect emissions arising from fossil-fuel-based energy sources used to power cooling equipment. Cooling sector specific mitigation targets and measures can significantly contribute to achieving a country’s overall climate target and therefore, need to be considered when defining and updating Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The NDC4 webinar series, launched by the global project Cool Contributions fighting Climate Change ll, serves as a comprehensive resource for National Ozone Units (NOUs), Climate Change Departments, Energy Efficiency Units, research institutes, industry associations, training institutes and other interested stakeholders. The six webinars that have been organized so far delved into an array of topics pertinent to designing and implementing more ambitious NDCs in the cooling sector – ranging from mobilising finance, monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), emissions reporting, energy standards and labelling and policy instruments. All webinars are recorded and published on the NDC4 website and the YouTube channel of the Green Cooling Initiative to be re-watched later on.
Grenada serves as a best-practice example for effective policy instruments
The most recent webinar showcased best practices from Grenada, a country where cooling accounts for one-third of total greenhouse gas emissions and more than 60% of the national electricity consumption. Through this case study, participants gained insights into effective policy instruments and strategies for mitigating emissions in the RAC sector. By highlighting best practices from Grenada, the session underscored the importance of cross-cutting approaches to address emissions from the cooling sector effectively.
The upcoming NDC4 webinars will be announced here, and speakers interested in participation can reach out via ndc4@giz.de.
The global project Cool Contributions fighting Climate Change ll (C4 II) is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) under the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
