Cooling is one of the biggest untapped opportunities to deliver climate, health, and development gains together. While the sector already contributes seven per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and could double that share by 2050, over one billion people still lack access to life-saving cooling for health, food security, and medicine. This guide supports governments in confronting this challenge by integrating sustainable cooling into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The NDC Cooling Guidelines offer a six-stage, step-by-step framework, supported by country case studies, to help policymakers assess hydrofluorocarbon and energy-related emissions, set sector-specific targets, and develop fully costed National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs). The Guidelines emphasize Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), Kigali-compliant refrigerant phase-down, passive and nature-based solutions, as well as climate-responsive urban planning. These actions are underpinned by cross-ministerial coordination, a robust Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system to track progress, and a strong focus on expanding equitable access. Together, they enable countries to integrate cooling measures into both adaptation and mitigation pathways. The NDC Cooling Guidelines were developed collaboratively by the UNEP Cool Coalition NDC Working Group, with contributions from the American University in Cairo; Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC); Clean Cooling Collaborative (CCC); Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Proklima; the Ozone Secretariat; Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC); and UNEP United for Efficiency (U4E).
Britain’s approval of National Grid’s 2GW Sea Link, a 138km undersea electricity connection between Suffolk and Kent, is a critical enabler for sustainable construction. Grid capacity is now central to net zero carbon buildings, energy-efficient buildings, heat pumps, cleaner sites and low carbon construction materials. Decarbonising the built environment depends on power infrastructure arriving ahead of demand, making renewable electricity a core factor in whole life carbon, net zero whole life carbon and the long-term carbon footprint reduction of the built environment.
WRAP’s estimate that stronger circular economy action could add more than £93bn in gross value and support 550,000 jobs strengthens the business case for circular economy in construction. Reuse, design for disassembly, resource efficiency in construction and end-of-life reuse in construction are becoming procurement priorities, not optional sustainable building practices.
For clients and designers, embodied carbon, embodied carbon in materials, sustainable material specification, low embodied carbon materials, environmental product declarations (EPDs), green building materials and renewable building materials are increasingly tied to life cycle cost, lifecycle assessment and building lifecycle performance.
The unresolved challenge is nature and accountability. Global biodiversity negotiations continue to expose gaps in funding, harmful subsidies and scientific governance, complicating sustainable urban development, green infrastructure and environmental sustainability in construction. Planning systems are asking projects to prove biodiversity gains, resilience and lower environmental impact of construction, while standards such as BREEAM and BREEAM v7 are sharpening expectations around sustainable building design, sustainable design, eco-design for buildings and low carbon design. The direction for green construction, eco-friendly construction and carbon neutral construction is clear: cleaner power, fewer virgin materials, better whole life carbon assessment and verifiable outcomes across every building lifecycle.
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