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Analysis of cooling degree days (CDD) shows that 97% of 241 major U.S. cities experienced increased cooling demand since 1970, with an average increase of 37%. This trend, combined with a 31% rise in residential electricity prices between 2020 and 2025, increases the financial burden on households, particularly low-income families. In 2020, the ten states with the highest cooling costs saw average household expenditures between $378 in Hawaii and $712 in Arizona. Future projections suggest U.S. household cooling demand will rise 43% by 2050. The report also highlights systemic risks, including electricity grid strain, increased carbon emissions from fossil-fuel-reliant cooling, and the urban heat island effect caused by waste heat from air conditioners.

RMI and OTS R&D conducted laboratory tests on residential split systems and packaged rooftop units to determine if reclaimed R-410A refrigerant, processed to AHRI 700 standards, performs differently than virgin refrigerant. The results showed no statistically significant differences in heating capacity, cooling capacity, or energy efficiency across all tested operating conditions. The report argues that scaling refrigerant recovery and reclamation is essential to bridge the structural gap between declining HFC production under the AIM Act and the ongoing servicing demand for existing equipment, particularly for R-410A, which served approximately 85% of US residential and 92% of light commercial cooling systems in 2022.

The GCHA submission argues that Chile's climate action should be framed through a public health lens to maximize health co-benefits, increase public support, and reduce the disease burden on the healthcare sector. The document recommends aligning emissions targets with a 1.5°C limit, accelerating health-related climate risk assessments, and implementing specific mitigation actions within the healthcare sector, which currently accounts for 6.7% of national emissions. It further suggests phasing out diesel subsidies, accelerating the coal phase-out date to 2030, and deprivatizing water to protect public health. The GCHA emphasizes the need for disaggregated epidemiological data to protect vulnerable groups and suggests using WHO tools to quantify the economic returns of health-promoting climate actions.

Non-CO2 emissions account for approximately 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they are frequently overlooked in NDCs, which often lack gas-specific quantitative targets. While some countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Japan provide good practice examples of quantitative targets, major emitters including China, Russia, India, and Brazil generally only include non-CO2 gases as part of overall GHG targets. China, whose current NDC covers only CO2 despite non-CO2 gases making up 18% of its national emissions, has indicated it will include these gases in its updated NDC. The brief argues that the 2025 NDC update cycle is a critical opportunity for major emitters, particularly China, to adopt sector-specific targets and align with international initiatives like the Global Methane Pledge and the Kigali Amendment to maintain the 1.5°C warming limit.

The webinar 'Youth Action for Climate and Clean Air Now' brought together over 140 youth leaders and experts to discuss the role of young people in mitigating short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and improving air quality. Key discussions focused on the science of 'super pollutants' like methane and black carbon, the importance of youth engagement in the 2025 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) update process, and the implementation of community-led solutions such as solar dryers in Ghana and indoor air quality monitoring in UK schools. The event emphasized that reducing SLCPs can provide rapid climate benefits and improve public health, particularly for children in the global south who are disproportionately affected by pollution.

The 2023 Clean Air NDC Scorecard reveals a significant gap in the integration of air quality and health into national climate plans, with an average score of 3.5/15 across 170 analysed NDCs. Low- and middle-income countries generally outperform high-income countries, with Colombia and Mali achieving the highest scores (12/15). Conversely, several high-emitting nations, including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, scored 0/15. The analysis highlights a critical disconnect in countries with high air pollution mortality, such as North Korea and the Solomon Islands, where NDCs fail to recognise the links between climate action and healthy air.

Heat pumps are identified as a cornerstone for sustainable buildings, capable of significantly reducing CO2 emissions by replacing fossil fuel heating. While technologically mature and often cheaper over their lifetime than gas boilers in several major economies, their rollout is hindered by high upfront costs, poor building insulation, and a shortage of skilled technicians. The document highlights that meeting 2030 climate pledges will require tripling the global heat pump workforce to over 1.3 million and implementing strategic policies such as financial incentives, building codes, and innovative business models like heat-as-a-service.

Climate Central reports that 97% of 240 analyzed U.S. locations saw an increase in annual cooling degree days (CDD) between 1970 and 2022, with the most significant rises in the Southwest, South, and Southeast. Projections suggest U.S. household cooling demand will increase by 71% by 2050, while global demand is expected to more than triple. The document highlights that rising demand can strain power grids, increase greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and HFCs, and exacerbate urban heat islands. It also notes a disproportionate energy burden on low-income and minority households, who may delay cooling use due to cost. Proposed solutions include transitioning to renewable energy, adopting high-efficiency heat pumps, and implementing building retrofits.

The briefing examines the debate over New York's transition to a 20-year global warming potential (GWP20) timeframe and the inclusion of upstream and biogenic emissions. It argues that this accounting method increases the avoided temperature rise by 66% compared to old methods and could avoid up to $240 billion in damages. The author contends that changing the accounting timeframe does not increase physical emissions and that affordability can be maintained through strategic policy design and federal funding.

The article discusses the four main types of fluorinated gases—HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and NF3—which are potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and industrial manufacturing. It highlights the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and the U.S. AIM Act as primary mechanisms for phasing down HFCs, while noting the need for sustainable alternatives like natural refrigerants and improved leak detection and destruction facilities.

The study finds that policy attention to Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) and air pollutants in NDCs increased significantly between pre- and post-2020 submissions, with a doubling of explicit references to these pollutants as priorities and a 45% increase in specific mitigation measures.

The proposal outlines a 24-month program to address five key barriers to climate finance and mitigation in Paraguay. It focuses on developing a National SLCP Strategy, strengthening the accreditation process for Sudameris Bank and the Agencia Financiera de Desarrollo (AFD), creating a Private Sector Engagement Strategy for the AFOLU sector, updating the national MRV system, and developing a high-quality GCF project concept note.

Chilling Prospects 2022 identifies that 3.66 billion people face high or medium risk from cooling access challenges, with 1.2 billion rural and urban poor at high risk. The report highlights critical gaps in food cold chains, health services, and human safety, while forecasting that achieving SDG 7.1 and SDG 1.1 could reduce the high-risk population by 36% by 2030. It advocates for a transition to sustainable, energy-efficient cooling and the implementation of National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs) to mitigate climate impacts and protect vulnerable populations.

Togo's revised NDCs aim for a total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 50.57% by 2030 compared to a reference scenario, consisting of a 20.51% unconditional target and a 30.06% conditional target. The plan prioritizes the energy, agriculture, forestry, and waste sectors for mitigation, while focusing on food security, water management, and coastal protection for adaptation. Implementing these goals requires an estimated total investment of 5.48 billion USD, with 78% of the funding needed as international conditional support. The document also outlines a national Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system and a communication strategy to increase public awareness and local ownership of climate actions.

The document highlights the Montreal Protocol as a successful model of multilateralism where science, diplomacy, and the private sector collaborated to phase out ozone-depleting substances (ODS). It details how the Protocol and its amendments, including the Kigali Amendment, have prevented millions of skin cancer cases and cataracts while providing significant climate co-benefits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The brief emphasizes the importance of differentiated responsibilities for developing countries and the role of political will and industry cooperation in achieving global environmental goals.

The briefing argues that the Leaders Summit on Climate should be used to secure a 50% emissions reduction target from the US by 2030, align the 2030 targets of major economies like China and Japan with net-zero trajectories, increase climate finance for developing nations while ending public coal funding, and ensure COVID-19 recovery packages prioritize green infrastructure over fossil fuels.

The report evaluates fans, refrigerators, air coolers, and air conditioners for off-grid use, linking their power requirements to the World Bank's Multi-Tier Framework (MTF). It finds that efficiency gains allow cooling services to be accessible at lower energy tiers than previously thought. The document proposes a quality criteria framework (Rating A-D) to help investors and development programmes identify 'best available technologies' and recommends the use of results-based financing (RBF) and third-party testing to scale the market for sustainable, climate-friendly cooling.

The World Resources Institute recommends that the US target a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. This target is presented as achievable through an "All-in" strategy combining federal and local action, with the power sector providing over 60% of the necessary reductions. The briefing asserts that this transition would create millions of jobs, with renewable energy investments generating more than twice the jobs of fossil fuel spending. Furthermore, it argues that such a target is essential for the US to regain international credibility and inspire other major emitters ahead of COP26.

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.

The report argues that current cooling finance datasets are fragmented and lack the granularity needed to evaluate investment patterns against global needs. To resolve this, it introduces a code-tagging system that categorizes transactions across four dimensions: cooling orientation, climate orientation, solution type, and purpose. The framework aims to move beyond simple equipment sales data to include passive cooling, policy, and service-based investments, ultimately informing targeted investment strategies to meet Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement targets.