UNEP’s Global Cooling Watch 2025 Warns of Tripling Cooling Demand by 2050

The second edition of UNEP’s Global Cooling Watch Report was released on November 11, 2025, at the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. Published by the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Cool Coalition, the report addresses the urgent challenge of rising heat, surging cooling demand, and widening inequalities in access to cooling.

Key Findings

• Global cooling demand could more than triple by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario, driven by population growth, economic development, and extreme heat events.
• Cooling-related greenhouse gas emissions could nearly double 2022 levels, reaching 7.2 billion tons of CO₂e by 2050, even with ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency and phase down harmful refrigerants.
• This surge in demand could overload power grids, especially during peak load periods.

Sustainable Cooling Pathway

• The report advocates a “Sustainable Cooling Pathway” to make cooling systems sustainable, inclusive, and low-carbon.
• Adopting this approach could reduce emissions by 64%, bringing them down to 2.6 billion tons of CO₂e by 2050.
• When combined with rapid decarbonization of the power sector, cooling emissions could fall by up to 97% compared to business-as-usual projections.

About the Cool Coalition

• The Cool Coalition was launched at the First Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement, led by UNEP.
• It brings together 130+ members, including governments, cities, industries, and civil society, collaborating on science, policy, finance, and technology to drive sustainable cooling.
• The Global Cooling Pledge, launched at COP28 (UAE) by the Cool Coalition and COP28 Presidency, now has nearly 70 government signatories and 50+ institutional supporters.

Source: UNEP