The July 2026 Cool Talk introduced water availability as a central constraint on the expansion of sustainable cooling. Around 14 per cent of food produced for human consumption is lost before reaching consumers, while integrated cold chains could save approximately 144 million tonnes of food annually in developing countries.
Cooling infrastructure can protect the water, energy and labour embedded in agricultural production. Producing one kilogramme of litchi requires around 1,800 litres of water, meaning the loss of 100 tonnes represents approximately 180 million litres of wasted water. Cold-chain planning must therefore consider resource use across production, storage, transport and distribution.
Weak cooling infrastructure also limits access to nutritious but highly perishable foods, including fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and dairy. IFAD-supported dairy collection centres and refrigerated transport in Rwanda and Kenya connect producers with markets while reducing quality losses. This approach is reflected in IFAD’s Nutrition Action Plan 2026–2031 and Rwanda’s RDDP2 dairy programme.
Cooling already accounts for roughly 10 per cent of global final electricity demand, and installed cooling capacity is expected to triple by 2050. Technology-specific energy forecasting can distinguish flexible cooling loads from fixed demand, allowing thermal storage and smart controls to shift consumption away from peak periods. Solar-powered refrigeration paired with ice-based thermal storage in Nigeria reduced energy consumption by around 40 per cent.
Technology selection must also account for direct and indirect water use. Cooling towers and evaporative systems may reduce electricity consumption while requiring substantial quantities of water, making local climate and water availability important design criteria. Measures discussed included passive cooling, efficient equipment, renewable energy, condensate recovery, greywater reuse, rainwater harvesting and operating protocols for packhouses, cold stores and refrigerated transport.
Public subsidies, state-level strategies and defined project pipelines in India have helped attract investment where incentives are linked to renewable energy, efficiency and water conservation. Data-centre operators were also identified as potential sources of market pressure and financing for lower-impact systems. “There should be two parameters with every air-conditioning system: how much water is consumed and how much energy is consumed,” said Dr Muhammad Wakil Shahzad, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chair of Advanced Energy and Sustainability at Northumbria University.
