Cooling and Extreme Heat Factsheet

In response to the rapid rise in the scale, intensity, frequency and impacts of extreme heat, UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently called for an urgent and concerted effort to enhance international cooperation to address extreme heat. He called for “invest[ment] in the triple strategy of passive cooling (nature, climate sensitive urban design, reflective surfaces and smart buildings), improved energy efficiency of buildings and cooling equipment and phase-out of climate—warming gases used in cooling equipment—in line with the Global Cooling Pledge at COP 28”.