By Checky Abuje
The cooling market in developing economies is expected to grow from around USD 300 billion to at least USD 600 billion, per year by 2050, this is according to the new report released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)-led Cool Coalition and International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The report reveals that the fastest growth in cooling is expected in Africa, which will see the market multiply by a factor of seven, and South Asia, which will quadruple in size, and calls for prioritising passive, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and economically viable cooling solutions.
The report dubbed “Cooler Finance: Mobilizing Investment for the Developing World’s Sustainable Cooling Needs,” finds that developing economies are currently generating two-thirds of global cooling-related emissions which are set to double their cooling demand by 2050 due to population growth, economic expansion, and urbanization.
Part of the findings in the report launched during the 79th UNGA meeting in New York indicate that sustainable cooling technologies can slash cooling-related emissions by almost half in 2050 in developing economies if prioritising passive cooling strategies like insulation, reflective materials, enhancing green areas, and energy-efficient technologies,
“The sustainable cooling market represents at least a 600-billion-dollar opportunity for the private sector, which could generate more than 8 trillion dollars in benefits for developing countries,” said Makhtar Diop, IFC’s Managing Director. “
Addressing 79th United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Diop admitted that developing nations are especially vulnerable to the deadly effects of rising temperatures and are urgently in need of cooling solutions.
“We are proud to present this report which describes the opportunity to invest in sustainable, affordable, and scalable cooling solutions, aiming for near-zero emissions by 2050,” remarked Diop.
He called for significant upfront investments to close existing shortfalls in access to cooling for households and SMEs in developing countries which will require USD 400-800 billion, in addition to future increases in demand.
“As record temperatures continue to be broken across the world, keeping cool is an essential need for both healthy communities and a healthy environment. However, we must avoid creating a vicious cycle of meeting cooling demands through solutions that further heat up the planet,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
Anderson reiterated that developing economies and the world at large need sustainable, affordable, and energy-efficient cooling solutions that both meet growing demand and support climate, health, food security, and economic development and challenged Governments, private businesses, and multilateral banks to use these report to harness a wide range of financial instruments for sustainable cooling and resilience to extreme heat.
The report however, recommended improving data on cooling, capital costs, and financing; raising awareness, and expanding the use of best practice business models and financing tools. Other recommendations included increasing seed and high-risk funding for pilot technologies; leveraging blended and concessional finance; and building on the Global Cooling Pledge to create a Sustainable Cooling Finance Partnership.
The meeting urged developing economies to develop an attractive approach to investors by creating an enabling environment to manage the transition to sustainable cooling solutions.
UNEP and IFC have affirmed their commitment to working with governments, businesses, and other stakeholders to de-risk investments and ensure sustainable cooling solutions are accessible to all, especially in low-income regions most prone to increasingly common heatwaves.