Ministers, excellencies and friends.
With each passing year, humanity pumps more greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. With each passing year, we see a resultant intensification of climate impacts, extreme heat high among them. Those without the resources to cope are sweating, baking and dying – particularly in concrete urban settings without sufficient green spaces to take refuge in.
This is while global temperature rise is still below 1.5°C. The heat is going to get a lot worse if we stick with the weak ambition under current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which put us on track for a global temperature rise of 2.6 to 2.8°C this century. We can’t let this happen. To keep 1.5°C possible, the next round of NDCs, known as NDC 3.0, must promise to cut 42 per cent off greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 57 per cent by 2035.
But even if emissions fall quickly, the planet isn’t going cool down any time soon. Many vulnerable societies and communities aren’t prepared for the heat we have been experiencing. They certainly aren’t prepared for what is coming.
So, we need to increase access to cooling across the board, to protect human health, reduce inequality and poverty, and allow economies to function. Not just space cooling. Cold chains too, so that we can reduce the 12 per cent of food that is lost and the 25 per cent of vaccines that degrade due to lack of proper temperature management.
At the same time, as the Global Cooling Pledge acknowledges, this must happen without reinforcing the vicious cycle of more emissions, hotter planet, more cooling demand. We know we can do this by implementing three key measures outlined in the Pledge, the SG’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat and UNEP’s Global Cooling Watch Report.
Passive cooling, better urban design and Nature-based Solutions – including more green and blue spaces, which have been proven to lower temperatures in cities. Stronger energy efficiency standards for cooling equipment. And a faster phase-down of climate-warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
These measures could protect 3.5 billion people from extreme heat by 2050. Cut sectoral emissions by over 60 per cent. Reduce electricity bills for end users by US$1 trillion in 2050. Reduce peak power requirements and avoid power generation investments in the order of trillions.
Friends,
I am pleased that the 2024 Annual Pledge Progress Report, set to be endorsed today, highlights that country signatories to the Pledge are progressing on implementing their commitments. Today, we will discuss this progress and challenges. Based on the outcomes of our discussion, the Secretariat will update the 2030 Pledge Implementation Strategy.
This must happen because we are still lagging on implementing several measures. Only seven of the 71 countries signed up to the Pledge have enacted building energy codes supporting passive cooling.
Forty-four countries have adopted energy labelling schemes, and 49 countries have set Minimum Energy Performance Standards for cooling equipment. But we need more supporting policies to take advantage of the far higher energy efficiency that is available.
163 countries plus the EU have now ratified the Kigali Amendment, including three pledge who did so this year. But we still need to increase rapid uptake of low global warming potential technologies.
There are many ways we can catch up the action promised under the Pledge. Let me today highlight just three.
One, include cooling in the updated NDCs.
Only 37 country signatories to the Pledge have already either included cooling related targets in their NDCs or will be including these in their upcoming NDCs. By integrating sustainable cooling strategies into NDCs, countries can mitigate emissions from energy-intensive cooling systems protect populations from extreme heat, boosting adaptation and resilience efforts. Every country, whether in the Pledge or not, must include cooling measures in their NDCs.
Two, adopt joined-up approaches to policies that back action in all areas.
National Cooling Action Plans (NCAP) are an effective tool to align policies on passive cooling, energy efficiency and refrigerant management. Seventeen country pledge signatories have published an NCAP. Four more have reported that they have an NCAP in preparation. National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) are also an opportunity to embed heat assessments in climate risk and vulnerability assessments. If NCAPs and NAPs become universal, and link up with NDCs, we can rapidly accelerate progress on extreme heat, climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Third, increase financing for sustainable cooling.
Closing existing shortfalls in access to cooling for households and small businesses in developing countries will require US$400 to 800 billion per year, in addition to the predicted growth of US$300 to 600 billion per year. So, we need countries to come together for a strong finance sprint for cooling.
This means looking at targeted finance mechanisms that reroute the economic savings from sustainable cooling to reduce upfront costs. Bulk procurement, cooling-as-a-service, on-bill financing, risk sharing facilities, and pay-as-you-go programmes have all been shown to work.
This means looking at seed funding and high-risk capital for new technologies and business ideas. Support for large cooling infrastructure projects, such as dedicated finance for subnational action. An increase in the lending capacity of multilateral development banks to incorporate sustainable cooling criteria into their practices.
Friends,
I thank you all for your commitment so far, including through promises and actions taken under the Global Cooling Pledge. We all need to do much more, much faster to expand sustainable cooling. But the heat is on. The heat is rising. We must protect the most vulnerable from it.
