Sustainable cooling policy progress

This report assesses the progress of sustainable cooling policies across the 'Critical 9' high-impact countries, focusing on access to cooling, energy efficiency standards, and climate change integration. It highlights significant gaps in electrification planning, financial incentives for efficient devices, and the implementation of National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs).

• Policies to enhance access to sustainable cooling are limited across the Critical 9 countries. Cooling demand is generally absent from electrification planning, with Bangladesh being the only exception. Furthermore, there are no identified government programmes for off-grid cooling devices or financing mechanisms to improve affordability in these countries.
• While energy-efficiency policies for cooling exist in all Critical 9 countries, implementation and enforcement vary. Minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and labels only cover on-grid products, leaving a gap for off-grid applications. Specifically, Mozambique and Sudan have not adopted MEPS for refrigerators, air conditioners, and fans, and Nigeria lacks MEPS for refrigerators and freezers.
• There is a significant gap between the energy-efficiency ratios (EER) of best-in-class air conditioners (5.0–6.5 W/W) and the minimum requirements in several African countries, where ratios are below 3.0 W/W.
• Integration of cooling into climate change policies is inconsistent. Only four of the Critical 9 countries (Bangladesh, China, India, and Pakistan) refer to cooling in their updated NDCs. Five of these countries—Bangladesh, China, India, Mozambique, and Nigeria—have ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
• Progress on National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs) varies among the Critical 9: China and India have adopted them, Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan are developing them, and Mozambique and Sudan have not yet started. Globally, NCAPs were published in 2021 for Ghana, Grenada, Kenya, and Lebanon.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2022). Sustainable cooling policy progress. https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2022/sustainable-cooling-policy-progress

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. Sustainable cooling policy progress. 2022. https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2022/sustainable-cooling-policy-progress.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=Sustainable cooling policy progress |date=2022 |url=https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2022/sustainable-cooling-policy-progress |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2022sustainable, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{Sustainable cooling policy progress}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2022}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2022/sustainable-cooling-policy-progress}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }