On January 1, 2019, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol entered into force, marking a turning point for much of the developing world to reduce potent greenhouse gas emissions. Sixty-nine nations have already ratified their commitment to reduce the production and consumption of super pollutants called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), helping avoid global warming by up to 0.4° C by 2100. Substantially more savings are possible.
The Montreal Protocol recognizes that improving the energy efficiency of air conditioners and other cooling equipment can double the climate benefits of the Kigali Amendment. This potential of climate change progress in just one sector is rare if not unique.
– Christie Ulman, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
The need for urgent action is indisputable. As incomes rise and more people move to cities, a warming world will drive unprecedented demand for cooling. That demand alone could account for almost 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – unless we act fast.
In recent years the philanthropic community, together with government and private sector partners, has recognized cooling as one of the biggest mitigation and development opportunities. In 2016 a group of foundations and individual donors pledged $51 million to help increase the energy efficiency of cooling. That investment led to the creation of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) in March 2017. K-CEP provides a platform to seize the opportunity for more efficient, clean cooling, especially in developing nations where cooling is essential for meeting social and economic goals. In its second year, K-CEP has maintained its focus on disseminating critical techno-economic and policy support for efficient, clean cooling while expanding its remit to address financial barriers as well as access to cooling that impact quality of life, equity, and the right to a sustainable future.
K-CEP is a unique and innovative model, delivering action at scale and speed. Since its inception, it has allocated approximately $48 million to projects in 44 countries, which includes technical assistance to 27 countries that have committed to include efficient, clean cooling as part of their national development plans.
For all these reasons, as K-CEP moves into its third year, I’m proud to help lead this ambitious program and our future strategy to maximize impact. On behalf of K-CEP’s funders, I want to thank K-CEP partners for their achievements and commitment. Your tireless efforts in this arena, from changing the way cooling equipment is being manufactured to increasing access to cooling for those most at risk, are saving lives and improving health and welfare for this and future generations.
I am excited for what the future holds. There is so much more work to be done, and we are only just getting started.
Christie Ulman is Director of Climate at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and chairs K-CEP’s Funder Steering Committee.
The past year brought new attention to the dangerous cycle that comes with cooling in a warming world. As the planet heats up and incomes rise, demand for air conditioning and refrigeration are also rising, adding to the greenhouse gas emissions that further warm the world. The increased demand for cooling thus exacerbates the very problem it seeks to address.
Major media, including The Economist, TIME, and BBC World News, reported on this dilemma, while the IPCC special report in October 2018 reinforced the urgent need to slash greenhouse gas emissions, including those from short-lived climate pollutants and energy used to keep people, places, and products cool.
The growing awareness is helping K-CEP’s efforts to significantly improve the energy efficiency of cooling appliances while phasing out super-polluting F-gases. The good news is that today this mission seems increasingly achievable.
In K-CEP’s second year, which runs from April 2018 through March 2019, we began to see fruits of seeds we planted in 2017. With 97 percent of our funds allocated, K-CEP is now in implementation mode, partners are at work on five continents, and we can already report some early wins. Brazil, Rwanda, and Kenya introduced significant new national cooling efficiency policies, while Rwanda and Trinidad and Tobago have developed National Cooling Plans.
Our $10 million finance initiative, which is mobilizing resources from bilateral and multilateral development institutions, private investors, and public entities to support investment in efficient, clean cooling projects, is underway in over a dozen developing markets.
In addition to unlocking investment on the ground, this initiative is adding new financial sector stakeholders to our movement.
Simultaneously, our access-to-cooling program has catapulted the issue of cooling onto the international development agenda and catalyzed new initiatives involving solar-reflective cool roofs, sustainable cooling for vaccines and food storage, and other vital services.
In just two years, we’ve helped build a large, lively, and growing global constituency for more efficient, clean cooling. K-CEP was featured in the UNFCCC’s Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2018 and praised by leading climate-change activists including Richard Branson in addition to several manufacturers of cooling equipment throughout the world.
In the words of one of our funders, “K-CEP has galvanized a movement on cooling.”
K-CEP’s second annual report describes this momentum, laying out the breadth and depth of work our partners have accomplished and the growing number of commitments being made by governments and the cooling industry.
As we embark on the third year – and second half – of this flagship program, there is of course much more to do. Governments and industry leaders must be more ambitious to make efficient, clean cooling for all a reality. In 2019, we’re working closely with our partners to help make that happen by disseminating technical knowledge, finding creative solutions to overcome barriers to change, and providing new ideas for financing strategies.
We are grateful to our partners, without whom we couldn’t achieve this progress. Together we’re accelerating the transition to efficient, clean cooling, which promises to improve health and welfare throughout the world.
Dan Hamza-Goodacre and Jessica Brown are the executive director and director of K-CEP.
K-CEP works with a coalition of high-impact organizations to implement its work. These organizations provide a range of services that contribute to the rapid adoption of efficient, clean cooling for all.
Much of K-CEP’s work to promote efficient, clean cooling for all is made possible by our partnerships with leaders in the cooling industry. These companies are first-movers, innovators, and champions of energy efficiency and the move to efficient, clean cooling. By piloting new technologies, financing models, and manufacturing processes, they help support a market-wide shift.
“The continual improvement of product performance and efficiency is one of Electrolux’s nine sustainability promises. We are creating ever more efficient, high-performance appliances, which help consumers and customers to live better lives, save money and reduce their environmental footprint, as well as raising the bar for product efficiency around the world. Because product energy use is responsible for over 80 percent of our climate impact, this is where we can make our greatest contribution to tackling climate change and meeting our target of halving the Group’s climate impact between 2005 and 2020. We are proud to partner with U4E and K-CEP and in particular welcome the development of model regulations to support countries that do not yet have energy efficiency regulations for appliances.”
“The Caribbean Cooling Initiative (C-COOL) with K-CEP and UNE has provided us with the opportunity and impetus we need to transition to more energy efficient and climate friendly products. The timing is opportune since the government of Barbados is championing a transition towards 100 percent renewable energy, 100 percent carbon neutrality and a 100 percent fossil-fuel-free economy by 2030. We cannot get there without the right types of ACs and refrigerators, among other solutions, and promoting this transition is central to our business.”
Johnson Controls, a global leader in building technologies and solutions, strongly supports the Kigali Amendment and the phase down of HFCs in concert with equipment efficiency improvements. We provide a range of highly efficient, low-GWP cooling, refrigeration and heat pump-based heating solutions and are committed to advancing innovative, cost-effective, safe and sustainable cooling solutions in alignment with K-CEP objectives.
“As we are running against time, we must focus on enhancing the global adoption of sustainable cooling technologies ready to be implemented today. Only through partnerships, such as facilitated by K-CEP, can we meet the growing need for infrastructure, food supply, energy efficiency and climate-friendly solutions with the ambition to keep people, products, and the planet cool.”
K-CEP and its grantees are partnering with 44 developing countries, as depicted in the interactive map below. For a complete grants list, see the table in the Annex.
The path to major progress in cutting dangerous emissions from cooling has never been clearer. On 1 January 2019, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol went into effect, requiring countries to cut production and consumption of climate change-inducing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in refrigerators, air conditioners, and related products by more than 80 percent over the next 30 years.
Two months earlier in Quito, delegates representing nearly 150 countries took their strongest action yet to increase the energy efficiency of cooling equipment in parallel with the mandated phase down of HFC gases under the Kigali Amendment.
This landmark decision directs the Multilateral Fund for the first time to consider increasing funding for countries to implement energy efficiency and to explore co-funding with other financial institutions.
The delegates’ vote was a response to the most recent joint scientific assessment of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UN Environment, which noted that “improvements in the energy efficiency of refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment… can potentially double the climate benefits of the Kigali Amendment.” Another inspiration was last year’s Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) Energy Efficiency Task Force report, which highlighted opportunities for promoting energy efficiency alongside the refrigerant transition, while also showing that in spite of the low level of official development assistance currently flowing to cooling sectors, there are numerous financial resources for energy efficiency projects in general.
In its two years of existence, K-CEP through its partners has played a major part in building awareness and global demand for more support for energy efficiency as a key ingredient in the work under the Montreal Protocol.
Working through the implementing agencies, K-CEP is already providing co-funding to MLF projects, including industrial conversion projects, training, and servicing, to show governments and businesses the climate and financial benefits of integrating energy efficiency into these F-gas phasedown projects. In this way, K-CEP has a key role to play in demonstrating the art of the possible for the future direction of the Montreal Protocol and the MLF.
K-CEP and its partners are laying the foundation for long term change, and demonstrating proof of concept. By continuing to explore ways to mobilize resources in support of efficient, clean cooling alongside F-gas transition projects, K-CEP hopes to pave the way for financial institutions to scale up their involvement so that energy efficiency improvements can happen alongside MLF-funded work for the HFC phase-down.
K-CEP is working in alignment with the Montreal Protocol and its institutions, alongside parties and industry members, to help developing countries integrate energy efficiency into the F-gas transition, thereby cutting pollution and costs while improving access to efficient, clean cooling.
A key part of K-CEP’s work is to help developing countries establish National Cooling Plans that aim to increase energy efficiency while reducing climate-polluting fluorinated gases (F-gases) as mandated under the Montreal Protocol. These plans provide a long-term perspective for policies that can simultaneously address national cooling demands and the need to combat climate change. The plans cover multiple sectors, including space cooling in buildings, industrial production of cooling equipment, cold-chain logistics, and servicing of existing equipment. K-CEP is also working to support countries to be able to link their National Cooling Plans to their climate strategies (Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs) in order to enhance national ambition through the UNFCCC process.
With K-CEP support, regional ”twinning” workshops have helped build the capacity of ozone and energy ministry officials in developing countries to combine energy efficiency improvements with progress in the F-gas transition. The workshops train national ozone officers and energy policymakers in market transformation and policy development. Workshops also cover solutions such as efficiency standards and labels and strategies to integrate efficiency expertise in training programs for the cooling service sector. Read more about the twinning work here.
K-CEP also supports industrial conversion projects receiving financing from the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund (MLF), by working alongside the MLF and its implementing agencies to integrate energy efficiency into the planned retooling of manufacturing plants to phase out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) as well as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a climate super-pollutant, while also steering work to eliminate high GWP refrigerants in supermarket cooling systems. These efforts will enhance the efficiency of new generations of appliances, helping to catalyze market transformation. Read more about the industrial conversion work here.
The Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) has already committed more than $50 million to support the implementation of the Kigali Amendment by helping developing countries transition to energy-efficient, climate-friendly, and affordable cooling solutions. It is my hope that 2019 will lead to new opportunities for K-CEP to improve people’s lives across the planet while mitigating climate change.Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat
The United Nations calls it “twinning.” The bottom line is it’s a win-win. When energy policy experts work with Montreal Protocol compliance officers, it speeds progress on energy efficiency while also working to phase down super-polluting F-gases. Besides providing governments with enhanced knowledge and capacity to reduce energy demand and climate pollution, twinning brings ministries together to promote more collaborative and effective implementation.
K-CEP supports UN Environment in coordinating such partnerships throughout the developing world. This has accelerated learning opportunities at a time when many countries have yet to implement rules for the energy efficiency of cooling appliances.
Two initiatives leading the work under UN Environment are the OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme and United for Efficiency. Together, they run the “twinning” program to train national ozone officers and energy policymakers in policy development and market transformation, covering solutions including standards and labeling and industry-member education. The collaborations have helped spur the development of National Cooling Plans that combine energy efficiency improvements with work on the refrigerant transition and increased access to cooling.
To support this and other progress over the past year, UN Environment conducted six regional twinning events and two global events in which ozone compliance officers and national energy policymakers met in workshops to combine their expertise. The regional events trained 240 officials from all over the world on ways to collaborate on clean cooling plans in their countries.
“The participation in the twinning workshops has allowed us firstly to better understand the objectives of each other’s areas and, based on this, to include our different visions in the work that is being developed. In one case in particular, we have invited our Ozone counterpart to be part of the Steering Committee of the GEF project on refrigerators, which seeks to accelerate the market transformation to efficient equipment in homes”.
– Marcelo Padilla, Ministry of Energy, Chile
In Bangladesh, a single corporation – Walton Hi-Tech Industries, Ltd. – makes nearly all of the refrigerators on the market. Fortunately, Walton’s leaders are enthusiastic about raising efficiency standards while reducing their products’ greenhouse gas emissions. They’re getting help to do just that from K-CEP, the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Walton produces nearly 80 percent of Bangladesh’s refrigerators, as well as many of its air conditioners, mobile phones, and other electronics. As Bangladesh moves to comply with the Montreal Protocol, Walton hopes to convert its manufacturing plant to produce more efficient appliances while phasing out HFCs. To support Bangladesh’s efforts, K-CEP, the Multilateral Fund, and the UNDP in December 2017 launched a program to provide funding and technical support.
Progress in 2018 included the development and testing of a new compressor design which could save up to one-third of energy demand. The UNDP has also begun procuring equipment to convert Walton’s production line.
The new refrigerators will include an improved compressor design, LED lamps, and better insulation – all of which Walton projects will increase energy efficiency by as much as 35 percent while eliminating more than 329,000 tons of CO2 equivalent direct emissions. The refrigerant switch alone has the same impact as taking more than 70,000 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.
In December 2018, UNDP officials met with Walton managers at the corporation’s headquarters in Dhaka to sign their agreement on the world’s first “Complete HFC Phase-out Project.”
“Conservation of the environment is always our top priority,” said Walton’s Director S. M. Mahbubul Alam, “and we are glad to take part in this journey with UNDP.”
As the largest refrigerator, air conditioner and the sole reciprocating compressor manufacturer in Bangladesh, Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd. is a proud proponent of green growth and sustainable business development. We are pleased that, with K-CEP and the MLF’s support, by December 2019 Walton will present the new improved refrigerators to the market, and we will look to the future with plans to redesign the current fixed speed compressor to a variable-speed technology.
– Ashraful Ambia, Chief Executive Officer, Walton Hi-Tech Industries, Ltd.
K-CEP promotes national, regional, and industrial policies, standards, and programs that achieve major reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions from more energy-efficient cooling.
Together with its grantees, K-CEP supports policies, standards, and programs for efficient, clean cooling in 23 countries and two regions (Southeast Asia and West Africa). This part of our work focuses on room air conditioning and domestic refrigerators, covering:
Window 2 builds on K-CEP’s training activities but goes further by supporting the development and implementation of policies, standards and programs in a range of countries and regions. The countries in which K-CEP Window 2 is active represent high potential for energy savings, good geographic spread, diverse market conditions (e.g., manufacturing and importing economies), and a sufficient level of capacity to implement. K-CEP is working with E3G to build country-specific political and economic awareness into all policy-relevant strategies to help K-CEP partners successfully inform national policies, standards, and programs.
"Cooling is becoming one of the most important societal challenges relating to our use of energy. It is central to people’s well-being and comfort, and yet its growth will have serious negative consequences unless appropriate efficiency standards are put in place. That is why the IEA is actively supporting governments and other stakeholders to secure a sustainable global future for cooling. We are pleased to be partnering with K-CEP on this vital issue.”Fatih Birol, Executive Director, IEA
A forthcoming report by the NREL analyzes the global supply chain for compressors used in residential air-conditioners to inform policies and strategies for governments seeking to promote adoption of efficient, clean cooling. Compressors account for most of the electricity use of an AC, with high-efficiency variable speed compressors delivering more than 20 percent more efficiency.
China is the world’s largest producer of air conditioners, the source of roughly 70 percent of the global supply. Making that equipment more efficient would have a massive effect on curbing climate change.
In 2018, K-CEP and Energy Foundation China launched the China Cooling Efficiency Project to speed deployment of more efficient, clean cooling technologies. There’s no time to lose: as China’s per capita income grows and the government works to move 250 million more people to cities by 2025, China’s demand for air conditioners, already the largest in the world, may increase by as much as 50 percent in the next decade. On the other hand, if China could increase and enforce its minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for room ACs and commercial ACs by at least 30 percent, it would save more than eight Gt CO2e by 2030.
China already has a comprehensive energy efficiency program in place that includes standards and labeling for certain air conditioners and refrigerators, but there is untapped potential for it to be stricter on energy performance and cover more commercial cooling products in the market. Barriers slowing the government’s progress include limited funds, lack of data, and industry pushback. Energy Foundation China’s program coordinates more than 17 Chinese and global organizations to provide research and technical support to assist in the revision of MEPS for “Variable Refrigerant Flow” (VRF) air conditioners, which account for half of the commercial air conditioners on the market, while also supporting other critical policy work and building political momentum for more efficient cooling.
A major sign of progress came in late 2018 when the project’s work helped lead to the decision from China’s National Development and Reform Commission – the country’s central economic planning agency– to develop a National Clean Cooling Action Plan. Additionally, the world’s largest AC manufacturer, China’s GREE Electric Appliances, Inc., joined the UN Environment’s model MEPS initiative to promote high AC standards. In March 2019, a draft of the new MEPS for room air conditioners was released for public comment. The draft proposed standards demonstrate China’s ambition to transition away from inefficient fixed-speed ACs. If fully implemented as proposed, including with the step-up in stringency in 2022, the standard would enable China’s room AC energy efficiency minimum levels to catch up with current internationally advanced levels. China’s strong and growing constituency for cleaner cooling will get a further boost in June 2019, when K-CEP and Energy Foundation China host the Regional Cooling Efficiency Conference in Beijing. To learn more about China’s important role in efficient, clean cooling, read the K-CEP briefing note.
“We see the importance of building a global village between manufacturers, universities, international organizations, and consumers in aiming to meet climate targets. GREE will help guide country stakeholders with policies to provide climate-friendly and low global-warming-potential cooling products.”
– Tan Jianming, GREE vice president
Nearly 12 million people in Kenya – about one-fourth of the population – lack access to electricity. As a result, school children have fewer hours to study at night, fresh produce has a shorter shelf life, and entrepreneurs can’t keep workspaces open after dark, among other challenges.
Kenya’s government has committed to achieving universal access to electricity by 2022. Improving the energy efficiency of air conditioners is a surprising but critical component of this strategy. Among all appliances, ACs are the largest contributors to peak electricity load, and even a relatively small share of households with ACs can overload an electricity grid. Demand for cooling is currently low in Kenya, but the Nairobi and Mombasa markets are projected to add 1.8 million units in sales between 2020 and 2030, with all ACs imported. This will increase the load on the grid and require the construction of additional, costly infrastructure.
In October 2018, Kenya released for public comment the revised draft of its minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), as well as a new consumer-directed efficiency label for non-ducted air conditioners, independent units most often used in homes. The standards, which had been in the works since 2010, were first implemented in 2017 but required immediate revision as industry could not meet the performance level of the standard under the high temperature required for the testing conditions, which was higher than suited to the Kenyan climate. K-CEP and its partner CLASP recognized this as an opportunity to work with Kenyan officials to strengthen the MEPS for room ACs and to support the introduction of a new room AC efficiency labeling program.
The new standards and labeling program are expected to have several benefits, including reducing household utility bills, cutting pollution, and improving access to energy.
The new label will lead to a significant reduction of the demand on the national grid, which will go a long way to free power that can be distributed to homes that are yet to be connected.
– Fenwicks Musonye, an efficiency expert at the Energy Regulatory Commission
CLASP reports that the equivalent of 18 percent of Africa’s total consumption in 2014 could be saved in 2030 with more efficient refrigerators, air conditioners, lighting, and motors. That should help Kenya’s electrification agenda while also contributing to global efforts to stabilize the climate.
K-CEP provides grants and technical expertise to public and private banks and investors to help mobilize investments in efficient, clean cooling. Part of our work is to encourage new investors by defraying some of the transaction costs of entering into new markets. We also collaborate with governments to introduce consumer-targeted financial incentives, such as on-bill financing and national rebate programs, which can greatly increase sales of efficient, clean cooling products.
Finance is key to advance efficient, clean cooling and contribute to multiple sustainable-development goals, yet less than 0.1 percent of current official development assistance is directed to cooling solutions. Significantly more public and private financing is needed.
Window 3 grantmaking is built on the premise that targeted grants can unlock the additional finance–both public and private–necessary to integrate efficiency improvements with the accelerated F-gas transition set in motion by the Kigali Amendment. With an allocation of $10 million, K-CEP supports initiatives that mobilize additional investment, leading to faster implementation of efficient, clean cooling.
In K-CEP’s first year, Window 3 staff worked with finance-sector professionals to explore what is needed to drive increased investment in higher-efficiency cooling solutions. In May 2018 this led to an open application process, managed by The Carbon Trust, to invite potential partners to submit proposals to support efficient, clean cooling finance programs. The response to the call was overwhelming, indicating substantial interest in clean, efficient cooling from a variety of stakeholders.
Applications were rated according to six categories, including potential impact, readiness to implement, and political economy, coupled with considerations such as having regional diversity and a variety of finance approaches. The ability to mobilize investment capital was a critical input to our decision-making, as was the potential of our grant funding to create longer-lasting institutional change. K-CEP ultimately selected six of the 29 proposals to be awarded. The selected six proposals cover a range of implementers across a broad geographic spread of developing countries. They cover both cooling and refrigeration and include district cooling, cold chain, and systems approaches. They employ a variety of financing approaches, including on-bill payment, credit lines and procurement schemes, and aim to mobilize finance from private equity, commercial banks, development finance institutions, and governments. The grantees either have capital available or have demonstrated strong links to capital providers, such that identified projects can be financed. These grants are expected to result in significant investment on the ground.
The table below lists a few of the Window 3 grant-winners and their projects. Their work is kicking off in 2019 and should continue through 2020 and possibly beyond.
| Grantee | Capital funding source | Funding modality | Country focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL) | Private finance | Cooling-as-a-Service | A5G1 countries*, with likely focus on Morocco, South Africa, Indonesia, and Malaysia |
| World Bank Group (WBG) | Multilateral development bank | Likely to include many different modalities | Various |
| UN Environment | Private finance, Multilateral development bank, National development bank | Infrastructure investment, On-bill financing, Various (concessional credit lines, on-bill financing, leasing) | Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda |
| MGM Innova | Private finance | Lease-back operations | Latin America, with a focus on Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Brazil |
| *Developing countries in the fast phasedown group (A5G1) of the Kigali Amendment. | |||
As the World Bank gears up to work with the international community and client countries to address this challenge, ESMAP’s new Efficient, Clean Cooling program co-managed with the Bank’s Montreal Protocol Unit and launched with support from the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) will be critical in our efforts to integrate cooling across our broader sustainable development portfolio and mobilize financing.
– Rohit Khanna, Program Manager for the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).
“I’m delighted that Cooling as a Service – a new business model for cooling promoted by and developed with support from the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) – has won endorsement from our fellow members of the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance. We see in Cooling as a Service a transformational and collaborative effort that has the potential to bring together philanthropic, public, and private capital to help achieve a low-carbon and energy efficient transition in the cooling sector in emerging markets.”
– Abyd Karmali, climate finance executive, Bank of America
In response to growing investor interest in efficient, clean cooling, coupled with a lack of reliable information about the market, K-CEP funded the development of an online toolkit, The Clean Cooling Landscape Assessment. The assessment, launched at COP 24 in Katowice, Poland, introduces users to sustainable cooling and its challenges. It is the result of extensive collaboration with members of industry, government, finance, NGOs, and academia in 12 countries.
This assessment will help investors, foundations, and buyers and sellers of cooling throughout the world better understand the technology and business models available to urgently scale up efficient, clean cooling. It provides a rich array of resources, including a technology primer, information on innovative technology companies, product-readiness assessment worksheets, and presentation aids and charts. The website site will be jointly maintained by the University of Birmingham and Heriot Watt University.
“Cooling is essential to our modern society and one of the biggest threats to our planet. Ever-increasing demand for cooling will result in spiralling energy usage with a potentially disastrous environmental impact if left unchecked.”
– Professor Toby Peters, University of Birmingham
K-CEP and its partners focus on the economic and health risks arising from lack of access to cooling in developing nations. Window 4 aims to make access to cooling a development priority by collaborating to help provide local solutions to populations most at risk.
Cooling is an essential part of everyday life. It allows us to remain comfortable during hot weather and protected in heat waves. It also preserves food and keeps vaccines safe and effective. While many of us take these benefits for granted, the lack of access to efficient, clean, and affordable cooling is a major problem for more than a billion people living in hot climates.
More than ever before, this problem is creating serious public health threats, especially during deadly heat waves. Lack of access to cooling also reduces productivity, impedes education, compromises public health, and wastes food. In its second year, K-CEP launched multiple initiatives to address these interrelated development challenges and to support efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“As climate impacts and populations grow, increased outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases are anticipated. The WHO estimates that 50 percent of freeze-dried and 25 percent of liquid vaccines are still wasted each year, while inefficient, electrical cooling solutions are estimated to be responsible for 10 percent of global warming. GAVI-X seeks to ensure vaccine cooling is clean and resource-efficient through the scaling of high-impact innovations. Our goal is to save children’s lives and reduce the environmental footprint of the vaccine cold chain.”
– Marcela Navarro, CEO & Co-Founder, Project X Global
“With K-CEP’s support and in partnership with SEforALL, Ashden is looking at the critical issue of cooling for the first time ever this year. Our research has highlighted the role good urban planning can play in providing innovative cooling solutions, in particular urban greenery – the focus for the 2019 Ashden Award for Cooling for People. Green space initiatives create benefits alongside cooling, including acting as carbon sinks, boosting well-being and reducing air pollution.”
– Sarah Butler-Sloss, founder-director, Ashden
At the UN High-Level Political Forum in July, SEforALL, in partnership with K-CEP, released “Chilling Prospects: Providing Sustainable Cooling for All,” a report detailing the plight of approximately 1.1 billion people facing immediate risks from lack of access to cooling. The report identifies nine nations with the largest at-risk populations and calls for greater attention to the critical role of access to cooling in addressing sustainable development goals including greater income equity.
K-CEP’s vision–that strong support for fast action around the Kigali Amendment would be catalytic–has been instrumental in SEforALL’s work on Cooling for All. It has helped us shift the narrative so that the international community begins to see the opportunities and challenges in ensuring sustainable cooling for comfort, safe vaccines, and safe food for all. It has helped us broaden the circle of constituencies working together to deliver Cooling for All.
– Rachel Kyte, CEO of SEforALL and special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All
Launched in New York City during record-breaking summer temperatures, the report generated 263 news articles and broadcast reports in six languages, for audiences in North America, Nigeria, South Africa, India, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. The coverage by various media outlets reached an estimated global audience of just under 300 million within the first week. To learn more about countries at risk, explore this interactive map.
The Cooling for All initiative focuses on how we provide sustainable access to cooling within a clean energy transition, and in turn, support faster progress to achieve the goals of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
Too often, roofs are heat traps. Most are made from dark materials like asphalt, tar, or wood, which can reach temperatures as high as 66° C in the summer.
Simple changes, such as using highly reflective white paint or tiles, can cut rooftop temperatures by 10° C or more and indoor temperatures by as much as 3° C – saving energy and money with less need for air-conditioning.
This is the reasoning behind the Million Cool Roofs Challenge, an unprecedented $2 million global effort to speed access to affordable, sustainable cooling by rapidly deploying cool-roof materials to those suffering from heat stress in the developing world. In August of 2019, the Challenge will award $100,000 grants to up to ten teams deploying solar-reflective materials in more than 100 eligible nations, mostly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. As rising global temperatures increase the demand for indoor cooling, billions of people in these countries can’t afford efficient air-conditioning systems, making cool roofs essential for comfort and health.
In 2021, the project will award a grand prize of $1 million to the team that has demonstrated the best sustainable and transferable model for rapid deployment of cool roofs and best meets criteria including a target distribution of one million square meters of cool roof product.
The Challenge is backed by K-CEP, in collaboration with the Global Cool Cities Alliance, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre. “As the world grows dangerously warm, access to cooling is becoming the difference between life and death,” said SEforALL CEO Rachel Kyte, a Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General. “This challenge will give local communities – often those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – a practical, affordable, and sustainable solution to keep their buildings cool.”
Important relationships between K-CEP’s four program windows make our initiative more than the sum of its parts.
K-CEP’s four program windows are synergistic, as each enables the others to be more effective and ambitious. The windows can be seen as part of the same house, shedding light on problems and opportunities and offering a view to a more prosperous, sustainable future for all.
For example, Window 1’s “twinning” program for energy and ozone policymakers helps raise awareness and develop the know-how and capacity for experts in governments to become advocates for the ambitious energy efficiency policies addressed in Window 2. Direct engagement between countries’ energy policymakers and national ozone officers also helps to enhance the demand for cooling efficiency to become part of the Montreal Protocol process and be institutionally paired with the F-gas transition.
The twinning enables more effective National Cooling Plans to be developed and implemented. These plans identify long-term cooling needs and set a roadmap to achieve key policies and programs for efficiency improvements, financing, and access, covered by Windows 2, 3, and 4.
Simultaneously, Window 1’s industrial conversion projects help K-CEP partners test new approaches with appliance manufacturers and supermarkets. Once a pathway for improved product efficiency has been identified, these pilot projects can pave the way for ambitious national minimum energy performance standards advocated under Window 2. This approach works with industry to drive more ambitious policies.
Under Window 2, K-CEP and partners help governments set progressive national energy performance standards and other policies that drive innovation in manufacturing, increase consumer demand for more efficient, clean products, and spur demand for financing which is supported by Window 3. Aggregating and scaling demand through “buyers’ clubs” and public procurement programs, also addressed in Window 2, helps create a “pull” for higher efficiency products, driving down costs through bulk purchasing. Together this can raise the bar for the energy performance of appliances, pushing less-efficient products out of the market.
Window 3’s support for new and more effective financing catalyzes a large market for efficient, clean cooling, while creating an environment ripe for smarter government policies, such as energy performance standards. Testing new and innovative approaches to financing, such as cooling-as-a-service or on-bill financing that circumvents the issue of high upfront capital costs, can make the business case for investing in cooling efficiency, leading to market transformation. Window 3 enables the policy and programs advocated in Window 2 to be more progressive.
Finally, Window 4 helps educate stakeholders on the plight of millions without affordable, sustainable cooling access and the impact on health and prosperity. It strengthens the case for ambitious national cooling plans, promoted in Window 1, by calling on governments to address access to cooling. Window 4 also uncovers non air-conditioning dependent cooling pathways in areas like sustainable cold chains, solar-reflective cool roofs, and urban planning.
The K-CEP Results Framework is key to both guiding and tracking our progress. It lays out our planned outcomes and expected impacts, provides the foundation for our strategy, and is the basis for defining priorities and activities during each program year. The overall Results Framework was agreed with our Funders, and we have worked with our partners to determine how projects, individually and collectively, contribute toward K-CEP results. The following table shows our progress toward Results Framework activities (sections A and B) and outcomes (section O).
Activity-Level Results Legend
| Activity Description | Measure of Success | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | At least 15 K-CEP Immediate Action projects (with verified emissions methodology) are announced. | A1.1: Number of K-CEP immediate action projects (with verified emissions methodology) that are announced. | CompletedFifteen projects in the following countries: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam |
| A2 | A5 Group 1 parties submit views that advance energy efficiency. | A2.1: Number of A5 Group 1 parties submitting views that advance energy efficiency in the Montreal Protocol (with support from K-CEP). | On-going, with notable resultsThe following 17 A5 Group 1 countries, plus the 54 countries in the Africa Group, have made written submissions or verbal interventions in support of energy efficiency: Argentina, Armenia, Barbados, China, Colombia, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea on behalf of the African Group, Mexico, Micronesia, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, Rwanda, Vietnam. |
| A3 | A “strengthening for efficiency” package of support is launched. | A3.1: Launch meeting or event for the”‘strengthening for efficiency” package of support is held. | CompletedWindow 1 launched in November 2017 at MOP29 and all Window 1 funds have been allocated. |
| A4 | Technical assistance is provided to approximately 10 countries for energy-efficient cooling policies, standards, and programs. | A4.1: Number of countries receiving technical assistance for energy-efficient cooling policies, standards, and programs. | Exceeded & On-going: Target = 15 Actual = 31: ● 25 national cooling plans: Argentina, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Malaysia, Nigeria, Panama, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, and Vietnam. ● 19 MEPS: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, China, the Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Palau, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam. ● 12 Financial mechanisms: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, the Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Palau, Rwanda, and Saint Lucia. |
| A5 | Opportunities are identified for K-CEP and MP funds (including the $27 million announced in Kigali) to be co-invested, coordinated, or enhanced. | A5.1: Dollar amount of MP funding (including the $27M pledge in Kigali) allocated for co-investment with, coordination with, or enhancement of K-CEP funds. | On-going, with notable resultsOpportunities have been identified for MLF funding to be allocated alongside K-CEP work. Over $35 million is confirmed. The MLF co-funding is coming in part but not exclusively from the $27 million announced in Kigali. Some of the co-funding comes from separate MLF funding for HPMP work. It should also be noted that not all of the $27 million is going to HFC industrial conversion projects. Some is going to enabling activities work as well. |
| A6 | A UN global panel on access to cooling is convened. | A6.1: UN global panel on access to cooling is convened. | Completed, Panel convenings ongoingThe Cooling for All Global Panel was launched during the New York Climate Week in September, 2017. In March 2018, the panel met in Kigali, Rwanda and reconvened in July in New York City. In January 2019, the panel met again in Kigali, Rwanda. |
| A7 | A corporate cooling-efficiency buyers and/or sellers club is launched. | A7.1: Number of companies signed up for corporate cooling-efficiency buyers’ and/or sellers’ clubs. | Slower than expectedDiscussions initiated with potential partners. |
| A8 | The K-CEP finance facility is launched and is active. | A8.1: The K-CEP finance facility is launched. | Completed$10m RFP on Finance Window launched - 29 applications requested $75m in support and proposed over $500 mn in capital mobilization. |
| A8.2: The K-CEP finance facility is active. | Completed & OngoingThe K-CEP finance window is active and functioning well. |
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| A9 | The Kigali Cooling Efficiency Tracker is launched, and market and technology baselines are established. | A9.1: Kigali Cooling Efficiency Tracker is launched. | CompletedKigali Cooling Efficiency tracker launched in 2018. |
| A9.2: Market baseline is established. | Initiated |
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| A9.3: Technology baseline is established. | Initiated |
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| B1 | At least 100 ozone officers and at least 35 energy efficiency policymakers are provided with support in energy efficiency through twinning. | B1.1: Number of ozone officers trained in energy efficiency. B1.2: Number of energy-efficiency policymakers trained in energy-efficient cooling. | Exceeded & Ongoing Ozone Officers Target = 100 Actual = 261 Energy Policymakers Target = 35 Actual = 160 |
| B2 | Some 80 dedicated energy efficiency officers (staff or consultants) are hired (on a short-term basis reflecting the timeline and resources of K-CEP). | B2.1: Number of dedicated energy efficiency officers (staff or consultants) hired (on at least a short-term basis). | Ongoing/In ProgressInformation to be provided by grantees will be forthcoming in the next reporting cycle. |
| B3 | More than 50 cooling-efficiency implementation projects (including the 15 or so immediate action projects) are launched. | B3.1: Number of cooling-efficiency implementation projects (including grants announced in A1) launched by K-CEP or grantees with K-CEP funding and/or leveraged funds. | On-going, with notable resultsTarget = 50 Actual to date = 49 ● Industrial conversion in: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam. ● MEPS support in: Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, China, the Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Kenya, Palau, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Thailand, and Vietnam. ● Financial mechanisms in: Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, the Pacific Islands, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Senegal, and South Africa. ● Rebates and servicing: Ghana, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda ● The Million Cool Roofs Prize Challenge will support implementation in at least 10 countries by ‘Boost Award’ winners. |
| B3.2: Number of cooling-efficiency implementation projects completed by the end of K-CEP Phase 1 by K-CEP or grantees with K-CEP funding and/or leveraged funds. | Ongoing/In ProgressProjects are expected to be completed by the end of 2020. |
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| B4 | The Global Access to Cooling Report islaunched, leveraging new funds, policies and/or programs. | B4.1: The Global Access to Cooling Report is launched. | CompletedB4.1 SE4All launched their groundbreaking report “Chilling Prospects: Providing Sustainable Cooling for All” at the UN in New York during the High-level Political Forum in July 2018. |
| B4.2: Dollar amount of funds leveraged for the types of work recommended by the report. | InitiatedThe Million Cool Roofs Challenge prize fund will leverage investment from competitors in their efforts to win the prize. Amounts leveraged will be assessed after the prize closes. |
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| B4.3: Number of new policies or programs proposed by the types of organizations identified by the report. | Ongoing/In Progress3 programs to date. The forthcoming Gavi program of work on vaccine cold chain, WWF’s work on the fisheries cold chain in Tanzania, Kenya and China, and the Million Cool Roofs Challenge were launched following the recommendations of the Chilling Prospects report. |
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| B5 | All A5 Group 1 countries have access to support to identify best practice cooling efficiency options. | B5.1: Number of A5 Group 1 countries that have been provided with access to training, informational materials, or online resources through K-CEP. | Ongoing, with notable resultsTraining to government officials has been provided to all 137 A5 countries through UNE’s twinning work. Informational materials are available publicly online through various websites. Data forthcoming on access to K-CEP’s website by A5G1 countries. K-CEP lessons were incorporated into the TEAP Energy Efficiency Task Force report. |
| B6 | Cooling efficiency proposals for additional funding are written with support of the K-CEP. | B6.1: Number of proposals for non-K-CEP funding that are written with support of ECO or K-CEP grantees. | InitiatedSome recently launched K-CEP projects will work towards this activity, for example our work with the Private Financing Advisory Network. |
| B7 | K-CEP lessons are disseminated. | B7.1: # of K-CEP lessons products and knowledge briefs disseminated to K-CEP stakeholders. | Ongoing/In ProgressTo date, 13 K-CEP knowledge briefs have been posted on the K-CEP website and distributed through the quarterly newsletter. |
| B7.2: Percent of grantee projects for which K-CEP lessons have been shared with the ECO team. | InitiatedTo date, 39% of K-CEP grantees have shared substantive lessons with the ECO team. |
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| B7.3: Number of individuals receiving the K-CEP newsletter. | Ongoing/In ProgressK-CEP Q3 newsletter was delivered to 731 recipients. |
| Outcome Description | Measure of Success | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Approximately 10 countries formally propose, adopt, or implement best practice cooling efficiency policies, standards, or programs. | O1.1: Number of countries that formally propose, adopt, or implement best practice cooling efficiency policies, standards, or programs. | In progress2 countries have formally proposed or adopted best practice policies: ● Kenya proposed a revised room AC MEPS and label for public comment. If adopted, this room AC standard at 3.1 EER will be the first fully implemented room AC standard in Kenya. Efficiency levels for RACs in the Kenyan market are generally low. Adopting a MEPS level of 3.1 EER would eliminate 73% of the AC models available in the market in 2018. ● Rwanda incorporated MEPS and labels for both room AC and domestic refrigerators into its National Cooling Plan based on U4E’s Model Regulations, which establish best practice levels for different climate conditions. Final approval of Rwanda’s National Cooling Plan is pending. |
| O1.2: Number of best-practice cooling efficiency policies, standards, or programs formally proposed, adopted, or implemented. | In progressThree best practice cooling efficiency policies were proposed: Kenya’s proposed AC standards and Rwanda’s two proposed standards (for room AC and domestic refrigerators). |
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| 01.3 # of countries that formally propose, adopt, or implement cooling efficiency policies, standards, or programs that are more stringent and, if relevant, faster than would otherwise have been the case without K-CEP support. | In progressBrazil’s MEPS are more stringent and faster than would have otherwise been the case, but do not meet the best practice standard in terms of expected shift in market away from lowest-efficiency products. |
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| O2 | More than 10 countries publish energy efficiency management plans to integrate energy efficiency into their refrigerant transition. | O2.1: Number of countries that publish energy efficiency management plans that contain substantive actions to integrate energy efficiency into their refrigerant transition. | In progress• 2 developed: Rwanda and Trinidad & Tobago • 24 in progress: Argentina, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam. |
| O3 | Montreal Protocol reports (including TEAP revisions and ExCom guidance on finance) and Multilateral Fund funding (including the $27 million pledge by governments at Kigali) reflect energy efficiency best practices. | O3.1: The finance report and other relevant energy efficiency reports from Montreal Protocol bodies reflect views of K-CEP-supported countries that advance energy efficiency. | In progressK-CEP’s experience in energy efficiency was reflected in the updated TEAP report. |
| O4 | High-efficiency technology increases its market penetration in target markets. | O4.1: Percent of cooling technology sold that is high efficiency in countries receiving K-CEP support. | In progress |
| O5 | The number of people with increased access to efficient, low GWP cooling increases. | O5.1: Number of people with new access to cooling. | In progress |
| O6 | Corporate “cooling efficiency” buyers and/or sellers clubs expand the market share of high-efficiency cooling technologies. | O6.1: Percent of cooling technology sold that is high-efficiency in countries where corporate cooling efficiency buyers and/or sellers clubs are buying or selling cooling products. | In progress |
| O7 | The K-CEP mobilizes more than $250 million. | O7.1: Dollars mobilized. | In progress |
| O8 | Countries commit to, initiate, or experience an accelerated HFC phase down because of energy efficiency initiatives supported by K-CEP. | O8.1: Number of countries where HFCs would be phased down more quickly because of K-CEP support for cooling efficiency. | In progress |
| O9 | At least 10 countries add cooling efficiency policies, standards, or programs to their NDC. | O9.1: Percent of countries that add cooling efficiency policies, standards, or programs to their NDC by the end of 2020. | In progress |
| O10 | Efficient, low GWP cooling is elevated to a priority development issue. | O10.1: SEforALL Chilling Prospects report is published, and Cooling for All Outlook reports are published in 2019 and 2020 O10.2: Percent of ODA funding directed to cooling. | In progressChilling Prospects report is published |
| O10.2: Percent of ODA funding directed to cooling. | In progress |
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| O10.3: UNE global campaign launched. | Completed |
In early 2018 the International Energy Agency (IEA) developed the Kigali Progress Tracker, which serves as the cooling module of the IEA’s Global Exchange Platform, a one-stop resource on energy efficiency. The Tracker is a repository for cooling-related information that also follows market progress towards efficient, clean cooling.
The Tracker has evolved in the past year as ever more data have been added on the market for cooling and refrigerants. It currently includes records of more than 3.6 million air conditioners in 16 countries including major cooling markets such as the United States, China, and India, and provides data on AC equipment efficiency and capacity by product category.
Based on an initial analysis of market data collected in the Tracker, a number of key findings have emerged that underscore the importance of the K-CEP program in accelerating the uptake of efficient, clean cooling:
Cooling market size: In 2017, space cooling was responsible for 6 percent of global building energy use, amounting to more than the entire electricity consumption of Africa and Indonesia in the same year. The use of energy for cooling in buildings is increasing rapidly throughout the world, rising by an average of 4.3 percent a year since 2000, with critical impacts on peak electricity demand during extremely hot days.
Cooling technology: AC efficiency varies significantly between and within countries. The most efficient units on the market are about twice as efficient as the average, yet that average level is increasing, moving from about 3.5 Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) in 2010 to nearly 4.0 SEER in 2017.
Refrigerant update: ACs using alternative clean refrigerants, both natural and synthetic, are currently being developed and becoming available in more and more penetrating the markets. , and ACs with low GWP are now showing market competitive efficiencies. Some split AC units using low-GWP refrigerants offer for instance display efficiencies of 15 percent to 40 percent higher than split ACs containing refrigerants with a GWP at least three times higher.
Policy update: MEPS and energy labels for room ACs are currently proposed or in force in 59 countries, with Morocco also adopting its first AC MEPS in 2018. These policy instruments effectively ban inefficient ACs and help create demand for more efficient models. Nonetheless, most countries still lack such mandatory standards.
The Efficiency Cooling Office (ECO) is the K-CEP secretariat housed at the ClimateWorks Foundation. The ECO team is responsible for strategy development, grantmaking, reporting, and program management, and is composed of the following staff:
In 2018, its second year, the ECO team had several priorities:
More than 200 experts to date have advised the ECO on strategy and theory of change. Engagement with experts and funders is built into the program, and includes ongoing guidance on strategy, investments, and implementation provided by a Technical Advisory Committee.
Together with K-CEP’s advisors and funders, the ECO has been finalizing plans to invest K-CEP funds across the four Windows. In 2018 the team launched the $10 million finance program (Window 3), ramped up access to cooling work (Window 4), and finalized additional grants in windows 1 and 2. The ECO also increased work on communications and a program to support grantee capacity to understand political and economic contexts.
K-CEP is a “fast start” program, having already allocated 97 percent of the funds committed by 17 foundations in 2017, the program’s first year.
The ECO team works closely with grantees to achieve impact. By providing goals – set forth in the K-CEP results framework – and tracking results on a quarterly basis, team members troubleshoot where necessary and lend timely support. The ECO team also work with grantees and partners in the field. The team visit countries, advise governments, attend international conferences and negotiations, present at training sessions, and engage with the media.
As Defra continues to support climate mitigation internationally, including through the Montreal Protocol, we have worked closely with the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program to find new opportunities to help our developing partners integrate energy efficiency into the F-gas transition.
– Steve Cowperthwaite, UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The K-CEP website, newsletters, and Twitter feed inform stakeholders of K-CEP’s progress. In 2018 communications efforts included four newsletters, eight knowledge briefs, and real-time e-mail alerts.
K-CEP, its grantees, and the issue of cooling’s impact on the climate attracted attention from major media around the world in 2018, including in Time, The Economist, Reuters, the Associated Press, and Xinhua.
Recognizing the importance of collaboration in making K-CEP more than the sum of its parts, the ECO promotes teamwork in several ways among funders, advisors, and grantees. These include an online portal for information-sharing, mid-year and annual strategy meetings, and issue-based working groups for grantees working on common issues but with different geographical focuses.
As the volume of K-CEP’s work grew in its second year, the organization hired Jessica Brown as K-CEP Director. Together with Executive Director Dan Hamza-Goodacre, Brown oversees management, strategy development, and implementation. Another new hire was K-CEP Program Assistant Xiaoyi Jin, who supports grants and financial management, event planning, and other administrative functions.
In order to ensure continued learning and improvement, a third-party evaluator is assessing K-CEP’s design, effectiveness and impact across program areas and priority countries, and management.
K-CEP has a funder steering committee (FSC) which oversees its programmatic work, meeting quarterly to review results, strategize, and advise on maximum impact. From April 2017 to May 2018 the FSC was chaired by Erin Rogers, a program officer at the Hewlett Foundation. In May 2018 Christie Ulman, Director of Climate at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) took over as chair.
The FSC is made up of a subset of K-CEP funders. Current members include:
As a program housed at ClimateWorks Foundation, ClimateWorks’ directors and officers have ultimate fiduciary responsibility for K-CEP. The ClimateWorks’ Executive Team also provides advice to maximize programmatic results.
K-CEP seeks to align our grant-making approach with our mission. Our work to promote efficient, clean cooling for developing countries means that we aim to be:
Our mission is an urgent one, and for K-CEP to deliver its promised results within its program’s lifespan, it must move quickly. To date, K-CEP has allocated 97 percent of its total funding, of which 87 percent has been awarded.
K-CEP provides many multi-year grants, allowing grantees to create effective multi-year implementation plans. It operates on a milestone-driven approach to ensure value for money and accountability for results. The ECO team implements K-CEP’s programs with a lean staff, so as to maximize the percentage of K-CEP funding which goes to grants. K-CEP also seeks opportunities to collaborate with other funding organizations, and to find partnerships with organizations and individuals in the public and private sector, through which combined efforts can achieve greater impact.
K-CEP’s grant-making provides an opportunity to promote capacity-building within developing country institutions. Encouraging grantees to hire local experts increases the likelihood of impacts being sustainable in the long term in the countries in which K-CEP works. As contract information is collected and calculated, K-CEP will provide updates on the percentage of funds that go to developing-country institutions and individuals.
To achieve maximum impact, K-CEP seeks to leverage the vast amount of talent and expertise within its grantee institutions. K-CEP invests to bring together grantees, experts, and funders for in-person and virtual collaborations, allowing best-practices sharing on common challenges while creating a strong supportive network. In early 2019, sixty-three K-CEP community partners attended the K-CEP Second Annual Strategy Meeting in Kigali. Learnings can be applied to other cooling projects beyond K-CEP to create even more impact on the refrigerant transition and cooling efficiency.
As K-CEP enters its third year, the ECO Team intends to commit the rest of its available funds, using them to bolster already-existing work for lasting impact. The ECO team and K-CEP funders and partners are also starting to explore what more work can be done beyond the initial activities and outcomes so that efficient, clean cooling for all can become even more of a reality.
17 foundations and individuals have generously contributed to K-CEP.
Barr Foundation
Bill Gates
Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
ClimateWorks Foundation
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Heising-Simons Foundation
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Josh and Anita Bekenstein
John and Ann Doerr
Laura and John Arnold
Oak Foundation
Open Philanthropy Project
Pisces Foundation
Sandler Foundation
Sea Change Foundation
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Wyss Foundation
| Country | K-CEP partners | Project Description | Window | MEPS work | National cooling plan | Compliance program/ testing | Industrial conversion | Servicing/ maintenance | Increased access to efficient cooling | Financial mechanisms | Awareness-raising & Campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | UNIDO | Support to refrigerator manufacturers to improve EE during the F-gas transition, market barrier assessment and implementation support for MEPS | 1 | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Incentives and financing mechanisms to encourage domestic demand for high-EE refrigerators and Acs | 2 | X | |||||||||
| Bangladesh | UNDP | Improving EE during the HFC phase-down in the domestic refrigerator manufacturing sector | 1 | X | |||||||
| Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ghana, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nigeria, Panama, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, Mexico | UNDP | Support to draft and publish national cooling efficiency plans in 13 countries | 1 | X | |||||||
| Brazil | Institute for Climate and Society (iCS) | Support to draft and publish national EE strategy for the AC sector and capacity-building to strengthen EE standards and labeling and support implementation | 2 | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) | Technical analysis on Brazil AC MEPS and labels | 2 | X | ||||||||
| Uma Gota No Oceano | Raising energy efficiency awareness in Brazil's AC Sector | 2 | X | ||||||||
| Caribbean - Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Barbados | UN Environment | Supporting financial mechanisms and policies for clean, efficient cooling in the Caribbean tourism sector, MEPS, and national cooling plans | 2 | X | X | X | |||||
| China | Development Reimagined | Research on South-South Cooperation between China and developing countries for environmentally friendly AC | 2 | X | |||||||
| Energy Foundation China | China cooling efficiency project: commercial AC MEPS, national cooling roadmap, early peaking cities cooling initiative, and market transformation | 2 | X | X | |||||||
| Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) | China Cooling campaign - consumer awareness raising | 2 | X | ||||||||
| China, Philippines, Argentina | Health Care Without Harm | Hospital cooling energy audits and advocacy for the adoption of energy monitoring systems | 4 | X | |||||||
| Colombia | UNDP | Embedding EE into the Colombian supermarket sector during the F gas transition | 1 | X | |||||||
| Costa Rica | UNDP | Development of a sectoral energy plan for district cooling in Costa Rica | 1 | ||||||||
| ECOWAS, including Cape Verde, Nigeria | Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) | Regional compliance program for ECOWAS region | 2 | X | |||||||
| Ecuador, Guatemala, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Uganda | UNIDO | Support to refrigerator manufacturers to improve EE during the F-gas transition | 1 | X | |||||||
| Egypt | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) | AC standard, compliance and implementation support | 2 | X | X | ||||||
| Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda | UN Environment | Egypt: Scaling up investment in clean, efficient district cooling systems | 3 | X | |||||||
| Ghana and Senegal: ECOWAS refrigerators initiative | |||||||||||
| Rwanda: Cooling finance initiative | |||||||||||
| Ghana | UNDP | AC sector rebate and enforcing EE in the servicing sector | 1 & 2 | X | X | ||||||
| Global | Ashden Awards | Cooling for People award | 4 | X | X | ||||||
| Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE) | "Cooling as a Service" business model | 2 | X | ||||||||
| Consortium led by Toby Peters | Guide to impact investment in clean cooling | 3 | X | ||||||||
| Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) | Working with the Consumer Goods Forum to support global corporate and policy measures on EE, climate-friendly cooling in supermarkets | 2 | X | ||||||||
| Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA) | One Million Cool Roofs Challenge - technical advisory | 4 | X | ||||||||
| International Energy Agency (IEA) | Kigali Action Tracker | Tracker | |||||||||
| Regional Training workshops incorporating Cooling for All materials | 4 | X | |||||||||
| National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) | Compressor supply chain mapping and analysis | 2 | |||||||||
| Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) | Supporting global efforts to improve standards and labeling for efficient cooling | 2 | X | ||||||||
| Testing program to verify the accuracy of EE and refrigerant certifications for Acs | 2 | X | |||||||||
| Research, analysis and recommendations on EE for the Montreal Protocol | 2 | X | |||||||||
| Nesta | One Million Cool Roofs Challenge fund management | 4 | X | X | |||||||
| Project X | Improving the EE and performance of cold storage and transportation for vaccines | 4 | X | ||||||||
| SEforALL | Cooling for All - Global panel & report on Access to Cooling | 4 | X | ||||||||
| Cooling for All - secretariat role and implementation advisory | 4 | X | |||||||||
| Third Generation Environmentalism (E3G) | Cool Platform for International Political Economy (Cool PIPE) | 2 | |||||||||
| UN Environment | Global high-level leadership, advocacy, and communication | 1 | X | ||||||||
| Twinning of National Ozone Officers and national Energy Efficiency representatives, and capacity building to link EE with Montreal Protocol objectives | 1 | X | |||||||||
| UNIDO | Support the work of the Private Financing Advisory Network to catalyze investment in efficient cooling | 1 | X | ||||||||
| Indonesia | Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) | Support to accelerate public and private finance towards cooling efficiency work in Indonesia | 3 | X | |||||||
| Global Initiative Communications | Cooling Efficiency Award and roundtable discussion at Sustainable Business Awards | 2 | X | ||||||||
| Synergy Efficiency Solutions (SES) | Establish a sustainable EE market in Indonesia, focusing on clean, efficient cooling systems | 3 | X | ||||||||
| Kenya | Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) | Support on implementation of MEPS for AC, and national cooling plan | 2 | X | X | ||||||
| Lebanon | UNDP | Support on MEPS, finance and incentives to retire old equipment, and service training and manual | 1 & 2 | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Mexico | Iniciativa Climatica de Mexico (ICM) | Support on MEPS design and national cooling plan | 2 | X | |||||||
| Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) | Technical support on designing MEPS for mini split AC and commercial AC | 2 | X | ||||||||
| UNDP | Support to refrigerator manufacturers to improve EE during the F-gas transition | 1 | X | ||||||||
| UNIDO | Pilot project for the substitution of old refrigerators to new, efficient appliances | 2 | X | ||||||||
| Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Brazil | MGM Innova | Demonstration cooling projects across several sectors in the Latin America and Caribbean region | 3 | X | |||||||
| Micronesia | College of the Federated States of Micronesia | Energy security and climate action in the Federated States of Micronesia | 2 | X | |||||||
| Morocco, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, among others | Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL) | Deliver clean, efficient cooling improvements in industrial and commercial operations of global companies, via cooling as a service | 3 | X | |||||||
| Nigeria | UNDP | Integrating EE into the RAC servicing sector transforming the market of inefficient RAC equipment | 1 & 2 | X | X | ||||||
| Pacific Islands, including Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu | International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) | Pacific Islands champions demo funds | 2 | X | X | ||||||
| Palau and Cook Islands | International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) | Supporting MEPS and financial mechanisms for EE and climate-friendly cooling in the Pacific | 2 | X | X | ||||||
| Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) | Build regional compliance capacity across ASEAN, provide technical analysis on MEPS | 1 & 2 | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Rwanda | UN Environment | Supporting an integrated policy approach for EE climate-friendly cooling: National cooling plan, MEPS and labeling, financial mechanism | 2 | X | X | X | |||||
| South Africa | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) | MEPS for AC and supporting capacity for testing | 2 | X | X | ||||||
| Tanzania, Kenya, China | World Wildlife Fund (WWF) | Food cold chain solutions - focus on fishing sector | 4 | X | |||||||
| Thailand, Vietnam | The World Bank | Strategy support: National cooling plans, market assessment, industrial capacity building and AC MEPS | 1 & 2 | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Various, including Panama, Jordan | The World Bank | Establishment of an Efficient Clean Cooling Program at the World Bank | 3 | X |
