Cooling Hub | Climate & Clean Air Coalition

The Cooling Hub brings together state and non-state members to build high-level political leadership and facilitate collaboration on enhancing energy efficiency in the cooling sector, while countries simultaneously implement the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

The Hub supports action in the sector by:

Matching governments, inter- and non-governmental organisations, and private sector actors to tackle HFCs and improve energy efficiency
Providing access to technical expertise, advice, and training that are central to successful transformation in the sector
Facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices

Opportunities for action

60%

Sixty percent of HFC consumption today comes from topping up leaky equipment. The other 40% is used in new equipment.

90%

Emissions from air conditioning and refrigeration are expected to rise by 90% (compared to 2017 levels) by 2050. This would be equivalent to an additional 30% of CO₂ emissions.

80%

Almost 80% of the climate impact from cooling comes from the electricity generated to power the equipment.

2x

Improving air conditioning efficiency could as much as double the climate benefit of the Kigali Amendment.

Goals

Implementing the Kigali Amendment can avoid up to 0.1ºC of warming by 2050 and up to 0.4ºC by 2100. These climate benefits can be more than doubled by improving the energy use of refrigeration and cooling equipment globally.

The CCAC has a detailed timeline to support these goals:

By 2023: All CCAC partner countries have ratified the Kigali Amendment or have demonstrated intent to ratify and have started the ratification process.
By 2024: All cooling industry partners provide commitments on how they will support and facilitate a faster phase-down of HFCs and enhance energy efficiency in the sector.
By 2025: Significantly raise global awareness of the cooling sector’s role in combatting climate change; increase ambitious action; and mobilise political support for finance to assist developing countries transition towards climate-friendly cooling beyond that of the Multilateral Fund of The Montreal Protocol.
By 2030: Significantly enhance the environmental benefits of the Kigali Amendment by reducing HFC and energy-related emissions in the cooling sector.

Join us! Membership is voluntary and open to everyone working in the sector

Join now

Approach

The CCAC has a strong track record on industry engagement and mobilizing political leaders to support action on HFCs. We have also developed and implemented technology demonstration projects and case studies to promote HFC alternatives.

Our work follows a set of tailored approaches to achieving the goals of increased national and industry action on cooling. These include:

Promoting cooling on the agendas of high-levels forums, such as the G7, G20, and UN Ministerial meetings
Finalising the inventory of cooling initiatives and programs developed by the Kigali Work-Stream
Demonstrating how to achieve accelerated HFC consumption and emission reductions while enhancing energy efficiency
Mapping CCAC partner countries’ existing measures and plans to assess progress towards achieving Kigali Amendment objectives and identify opportunities that enhance effort
Developing and disseminating tools and guidance to help partner countries identify and adopt zero or low-global warming potential (GWP), energy efficient alternative technologies, including through nature-based and passive solutions

Leadership

The Cooling Hub is co-led by Japan and the Maldives. Co-leadership by countries ensures government engagement and ownership of the solutions. Co-leads provide valuable insights into the policy process to help ensure implementation is practical from a national perspective.

The Cooling Hub Leadership Group consists of both state and non-state members that provide guidance and expertise, and connect the Hub to activities underway beyond the CCAC.