A FRAMEWORK FOR TRACKING COOLING INVESTMENT

The report addresses the lack of granular, standardized data on cooling finance, which currently relies on equipment sales estimates or fragmented sectoral data. To resolve this, the authors propose a 'Cooling Investment Tracking Framework' using a six-letter code-tagging system. This system evaluates four dimensions: cooling orientation (the extent to which cooling is the project's purpose), climate orientation (whether the solution is efficient, clean, or sustainable), solution type (categorized into technology, services, policy, and finance), and purpose (mapped to OECD DAC codes). The framework aims to help stakeholders quantify financial commitments, monitor the phase-out of high-GWP refrigerants, and inform national cooling action plans. The authors recommend piloting the framework with development finance institutions to create a universal standard for tracking sustainable cooling investments.

• Global demand for cooling is rising rapidly, with the global air conditioner stock projected to exceed 5 billion units by 2050, more than double the 2020 level.
• Current cooling finance datasets are insufficient because they focus primarily on equipment sales and lack project-level information, making it difficult to track the full range of cross-sectoral cooling solutions.
• The proposed Cooling Investment Tracking Framework utilizes a four-part code-tagging system to categorize transactions based on Cooling Orientation, Climate Orientation, Solution Type, and Purpose.
• Within the framework, 'Sustainable' cooling is defined as meeting both 'Efficient' criteria (complying with national minimum equipment performance standards or using no energy) and 'Clean' criteria (using refrigerants with low or no Global Warming Potential and Ozone Depletion Potential).
• The framework's 'Purpose' category is designed to integrate with existing systems by mapping to OECD DAC purpose codes across eight application categories, including Health, Energy, and Agriculture and Forestry.
• A preliminary word search of the 2018 OECD CRS database identified cooling-related project commitments totaling USD 343 million, though this likely undercounts total investment due to the lack of dedicated sectoral tags.

APA

Wetherbee, C., & Meattle, C. (2021). A FRAMEWORK FOR TRACKING COOLING INVESTMENT. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/A-Framework-for-Tracking-Cooling-Investments.pdf

Chicago

Wetherbee, Cooper, and Chavi Meattle. A FRAMEWORK FOR TRACKING COOLING INVESTMENT. Climate Policy Initiative, 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/A-Framework-for-Tracking-Cooling-Investments.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wetherbee |first1=Cooper |last2=Meattle |first2=Chavi |title=A FRAMEWORK FOR TRACKING COOLING INVESTMENT |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=February 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/A-Framework-for-Tracking-Cooling-Investments.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wetherbee2021framework, author = {Wetherbee, Cooper and Meattle, Chavi}, title = {{A FRAMEWORK FOR TRACKING COOLING INVESTMENT}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/A-Framework-for-Tracking-Cooling-Investments.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }