By Lauren Textor
Wildfires, droughts and monsoons: extreme heat and its side effects have dominated the headlines this summer. It’s been the hottest summer on record for Western Europe, and this July has been the warmest ever recorded in North America, Asia and Africa.
Every region in the world is experiencing an increase in the frequency, intensity and length of heat waves due to climate change. Access to effective cooling has become essential to human health, but technology such as air conditioning is energy-intensive and polluting.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service collect and disseminate weather and climate data that serves more than 60 countries and 22 sectors. This data shows that “we are entering a new climate regime,” according to Dr. Eleni Myrivili, Global Chief Heat Officer of the UNEP and Atlantic Council Climate Resilience Center.
Global agricultural production has dropped by 20% since the 1960s and half of the human population experiences extreme water scarcity for half of the calendar year. Extreme heat is not only causing health consequences, but economic consequences as well, as productivity dips due to climate-related issues.
“The challenge today is really moving fast enough to adapt our societies and our economies to the climate that we are already living in,” Myrivili says.
Many home- and business owners in historically cooler climates are considering air conditioning. But Lily Riahi, Head of the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) Buildings and Cooling Unit, says that while air conditioning is necessary for health and safety cooling, it should not be the first or the only response.
UNEP’s Global Cooling Watch report finds that if current trends continue, cooling demands and energy consumption will triple by 2050, which will nearly double cooling-related greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2022.
“The goal is not less cooling, but smarter and more equitable cooling,” Riahi says.
The report suggests a hybrid approach for the highest health benefits and the lowest global warming potential– urban nature, heat resilient buildings, green and blue corridors, shading parks and other passive measures combined with fans and air conditioning. It’s called the Sustainable Cooling Pathway, and a heat adaptation study commissioned by the UK Climate Change Committee shows that it’s the most cost-effective approach.
Integrating nature as part of the solution to extreme heat also comes with co-benefits: air pollution reduction, biodiversity protection and flooding adaptation.
While every geographic region will face its own challenges in implementation, the Global Cooling Watch report suggests that these initiatives are broadly applicable. However, the layouts of cities and even individual buildings, as well the local climate, will present more specific requirements to the adaptation of cooling strategies.
At present, 75 governments and more than 250 cities have signed the Global Cooling Pledge, which aims to expand access to sustainable cooling and cut global cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050.
“In a warming world, thermal comfort should not be a luxury,” Myrivili says.