Cooling the Climate Crisis: Turning the Global Cooling Pledge into Urban Impact
This is an official side-event of the 12th Wrld Urban Forum.
Date: Thursday 7 November 2024
Time: 13:00 to 14:30 EEST
Location: Multipurpose Room 9, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt
Organizing Partners
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Description:
To respond to extreme heat, the UN SG calls for action to, “Increase equitable access to and scale up low-carbon cooling: Invest 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.” UN SGs Call to Action on Extreme Heat.
With the global temperature now 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer on average than during the preindustrial era, the world is seeing more intense heatwaves. At 1.5°C of warming, hundreds of millions of people could face one week per year of deadly humid heat that would not survive without access to cooling.
City infrastructure – like roads and buildings – absorb heat and then release it back into the city, meaning the highest temperatures during heatwaves often occur in urban areas. From Europe to Asia, the United States and Africa, this has negative consequences for cities as temperatures reached record highs last year. Against this backdrop, at COP28, the COP Presidency, supported by the UN Environment Programme-led Cool Coalition, launched the Global Cooling Pledge, now backed by 71 countries and over 60 non-state actors.
Cities play a pivotal role in bringing solutions to scale and advancing sustainable cooling, and their active participation is essential in the global effort to mitigate the effects of rising temperatures and heat waves caused by climate change which pose significant risks to urban communities. Recognizing this, the Global Cooling Pledge includes specific commitments for national governments to create an enabling environment for subnational action including through the implementation of model building codes and public procurement guidelines that promote passive cooling measures such as nature-based solutions, reflective surfaces and climate sensitive buildings. In addition, the pledge calls on sub-nationals to support national governments in achieving the Pledge’s targets.
This event will delve further into the national and sub-national commitments of the Global Cooling Pledge as related to addressing extreme heat in cities. In addition, the event will highlight how cities, countries, and other stakeholders are scaling up passive cooling: urban design, nature-based solutions, smart buildings, and reflective surfaces, to tackle urban heat.
