The Cool Leaders Award: UNEP Launch for Sustainable Cooling

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Key takeaways

The UNEP-led Cool Coalition and SEforALL launched the inaugural Cool Leaders Award during the Global Cooling Pledge Assembly 2026 in Singapore.
This initiative translates the COP28 Global Cooling Pledge into action as global cooling device stock is projected to reach 5.6 billion units by 2050.
Adopting nature-based urban designs and passive cooling can potentially reduce peak urban temperatures by up to 5°C.
The 2026 winners include Singapore, the UAE, and Dong Mingzhu of Gree Electric Appliances for her Zero Carbon Source AC system.

The UNEP-led Cool Coalition launched the first Cool Leaders Award during the Global Cooling Pledge Assembly 2026 in Singapore.

This award is a global recognition system. It honors strong leadership, policy breakthroughs, new technology, and real-world actions in sustainable cooling and climate strength.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched this initiative. The UNEP-led Cool Coalition administers it alongside Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).
The award speeds up commitments made under the Global Cooling Pledge from COP28. It promotes passive building designs, natural adaptations, and highly efficient cooling systems to protect vulnerable communities.

It changes political promises from the Global Cooling Pledge into real policies, actual actions, and clean cooling technologies.
It encourages urban forests, green roofs, and natural building airflow. These methods reduce the need for machines and can lower city temperatures by up to 5°C.
The award promotes low-carbon options because traditional cooling devices will grow nearly three times to 5.6 billion units by 2050.
It celebrates national governments, city leaders, and business experts for smart cooling policies, heat-safe city planning, and energy-saving technology.
This program works with the Global Heat Resilience Roadmap and the GEF-backed Nature for Cooling Challenge to coordinate actions against extreme heat.

Singapore won for using passive cooling, city green cover, and heat-proof urban planning in its national development strategy.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) won for building large district cooling projects and advancing clean cooling through global climate diplomacy.
Dong Mingzhu from Gree Electric Appliances won for developing super-efficient cooling tech, including the Zero Carbon Source air-conditioning system.