On 24 July 2025, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) launched the seventh edition of its Chilling Prospects report, highlighting the global divide in access to sustainable cooling. Presented during the UNEP Cool Coalition’s "Cool Talks" webinar series, the report identifies more than one billion people at high risk due to insufficient access to cooling, including 309 million rural poor and 695 million urban poor.
SEforALL’s Programme Manager for Cooling, Ben Hartley, warned that without significant intervention, the number of high-risk individuals could rise to 1.05 billion by 2030. While countries like China are making progress, increased vulnerability is seen in Sub-Saharan Africa due to limited energy access and rapid urbanization. “Cooling underpins the ability of millions to escape poverty,” Hartley said, citing the sector’s role in education, healthcare, and food security.
UNEP’s Minni Sastry emphasized the need to embed cooling into long-term urban planning. She described how heat action plans in India are evolving to include strategies such as nature-based solutions and urban heat island mapping. In Kenya, Felix Akello from the Kisumu County Government detailed efforts to align cooling strategies with the county’s renewable energy roadmap and cold chain development as part of commitments under the Global Cooling Pledge.
Addressing financial challenges, Rusmir Musić from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) noted that cooling must be integrated into broader sector investment strategies. He cited examples such as IFC’s $340 million green housing program in India and TechEmerge’s cold chain pilots. “We won’t see the scale of finance that’s needed unless we make this about return on investment,” Musić stated.
Zonibel Woods of the Asian Development Bank stressed the need for gender-responsive cooling strategies, pointing out that women are disproportionately affected by extreme heat. She called for stronger data, inclusion of indigenous knowledge, and empowered local leadership.
From a technology perspective, GIZ Proklima’s Guntram Glasbrenner warned against continued reliance on high-GWP refrigerants like R-32 and advocated for a shift to natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons. He highlighted the importance of technician training and policy enforcement, referencing GIZ’s Cool Trainings programme for safe handling practices.
The event concluded with a call for integrated planning and stronger cross-sector collaboration. “We’ve made progress in policy and technology,” SEforALL’s Rosa Garcia noted. “But the real test is whether we’re designing for the realities of the most vulnerable.”
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