This year’s report, the second in the Chilling Prospects series, shows a notable growth in the numbers of ‘urban poor’ – those living in cities yet often lacking reliable access to electricity – at highest risk from a lack of cooling access. 680 million people living in urban slums have little or no cooling to protect them in a heatwave – a rise of 50 million people in the past year – with an additional 365 million people living in poor rural areas also at high risk. A further 2.2 billion in the lower middle class are only able to afford cheaper, less energy efficient air conditioners, potentially causing a spike in global energy demand and profound negative climate impacts.

Brian Dean, Head of Cooling and Energy Efficiency at Sustainable Energy for All, highlighted the need to see cooling access as a right: “In a warming world facing ongoing deadly impacts from climate change, we cannot view cooling as a luxury. In a heatwave, it can be a matter of life or death for children and older people. It ensures that workers are productive, that families can store nutritious food securely, and that infants can receive an effective vaccine in a rural clinic. Delivering sustainable cooling is an issue of equity that will enable millions to escape poverty and help to realize the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Launched during the Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP 31) in Rome, Italy, this year’s report takes stock of progress made over the past year, highlighting new solutions to sustainable access to cooling and calling on governments, industry, and development finance to urgently work together to reduce the number of people at risk from lack of access to cooling. It also provides a new tool, The Cooling for All Needs Assessment, for governments, NGOs and development institutions to accurately size the market for cooling demands based on comfort, safety, nutrition and health needs.

Highlight findings from this year’s report include:

• In 52 high-risk countries, 365 million people in rural areas and 680 million people in urban slums are at risk due to:
  • Poor rural areas lack access to safe food and medicines
  • Poor urban slums have little or no cooling to protect them in a heatwave
• 2.2 billion people present a different risk, a rising, lower-middle class in developing countries, who are only able to afford cheaper, less efficient air conditioners that could create a spike in energy demand and a rise in emissions.
• Across the 52 high-impact countries, at least 3.2 billion people face cooling access challenges in 2019.
• Cities across the world are growing and becoming hotter, which is causing increased pressure on their electricity systems to deliver cooling sustainably.
• Many countries do not have national cooling plans that will invest in infrastructure to provide residential and commercial cooling, address damage to the climate by inefficient cooling systems and establish cold chains that support food security and medical security.

Chilling Prospects: Tracking Sustainable Cooling for All 2019 sets out a series of action-oriented recommendations, complete with resources, to allow policymakers, development financiers, and industry to accelerate access to cooling. These include:

• Government policymakers should develop and implement comprehensive national cooling plans that protect the vulnerable, using the Cooling for All Needs Assessment to measure demand and aggregate solutions.
• Donors, development practitioners and financiers should prioritize the most vulnerable. To do so, they must harness a diverse set of financing tools to deliver universal cooling access. There is also a clear need to track financial flows directed towards access to cooling for at-risk populations. 
• Industry and business must ensure efficiency and affordability at the ‘Base of the Pyramid’, accelerating action through skills development, maintenance, and technician training. 
• In addition to supporting policy planning at the national level, cities and local authorities should use the Cooling for All Needs Assessment to identify priority actions to protect their most vulnerable populations. 

The report draws attention to the direct intersection between three internationally agreed goals: the Paris Climate Agreement; the Sustainable Development Goals; and the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment. One of the key goals of the Kigali Amendment is to limit consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a potent greenhouse gas used widely in air conditioners and refrigerators.

The report was produced in partnership and supported by the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP). The Chilling Prospects research is part of SEforALL’s Cooling for All initiative, which developed the report along with contributions from the Global Panel on Access to Cooling.

For any media requests, please email media@SEforALL.org

What needs to happen for more blended finance to be directed towards SDG7?

There needs to be a deeper understanding of the various blended finance structuring approaches. Convergence’s database of historical deals and its case studies on specific transactions are a useful starting point. This archive offers an evidence base for effectively structuring new deals and points investors looking to diversify their portfolios towards potential partners.  

How else is Convergence contributing to the achievement of SDG7?

Convergence is the global network for blended finance. We generate blended finance, data, intelligence, and deal flow to increase private sector investment in developing countries, in support of the SDGs. One way we contribute to SDG7 is through our Design Funding grant program, which supports the design of innovative blended finance vehicles that aim to attract private capital to global development. Under this program, 39 percent of grants have directly supported the achievement of SDG7. For example, we supported the design of the Climate Finance Facility, the first “Green Bank” in an emerging market, which is housed within the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

What other successes have you achieved thus far?

From our database of roughly 500 blended finance transactions, our data shows that 162 blended finance deals have been aligned to SDG7 to date, representing over USD 72 billion, with participation from over 500 investors. We have seen these financing flows target projects (37 percent), funds (35 percent), companies (17 percent), facilities (9 percent), and bonds/notes (2 percent). At least half of that financing comes from private investors with commercial mandates, whose participation has been facilitated by concessional capital.

Convergence is presently also supporting capital raises for 32 SDG7-related deals that are seeking USD 2 billion in financing. These transactions have secured about USD 1 billion to-date and we are matching them to our global network of investors to help to close their individual funding gaps.

*Ladé Araba is the Managing Director for Africa at Convergence Blended Finance and is Co-Chair of the Board of EED Advisory.

For any media requests, please contact Beth Woodthorpe-Evans on media@SEforALL.org or +12023901042.

Held during the UN General Assembly week and the day after the Climate Action Summit, this year’s Seven for 7 celebration looked at the nexus of energy and health, highlighting leadership that supported significant progress in the areas of cooling for all, powering health care, clean fuels for all and outdoor air quality.

As emphasized during the event, the world is off track to meet global energy goals, but leadership highlighted by Seven for 7 2019 honorees shows the inspiration and success stories happening on the ground that can help drive faster progress. Opening the evening, António Mexia, Chairman of the SEforALL Administrative Board, CEO of Energias de Portugal, focused on the central role that sustainable energy for all has to support global goals: “SDG 7 is at the core of the other SDGs. Without SDG7 many of the goals will never be reached. We will see a lot of different solutions and hear stories of success so that we can all learn from them.”

He was followed by H.E. Rasmus Prehn, Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark, who thanked SEforALL for the collaboration on the Energy Track of the UN Climate Summit. He said: “We face a huge challenge, but it can be done if we get all hands on deck and focus our energy on energy.” The Minister added that Denmark is proud to be a front-runner at the national level and willing to continue to lead internationally.

“When working towards energy transition, keep the health benefits in mind,” Dr. Maria Neira, Director of the Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health Department of the World Health Organisation said in her statement. She continued: “People ask me: With seven million deaths every year and the diseases that are caused by air pollution, how do you keep some optimism? I am keeping optimistic because I meet people like you.  When I see the examples and ideas that are presented today, this gives me a lot of optimism.”

Harriet Lamb, CEO of Ashden, SEforALL’s partner for this event, said: “We are celebrating seven amazing women and men who are creating the living alternative and showing how another world could look and be. They're doing it not through fancy new technology but sometimes by taking very ordinary everyday objects from paint pots to plant pots. They're doing it by engaging marginalized communities and putting them first, not last. As they're taking carbon out of the economy, they're putting justice back in.”

The seven honorees included political leaders, city governments and businesses that are improving lives globally and locally. They are leading and driving action in Ghana, India and Mexico, and in cities as diverse as New York, Medellín and Ahmedabad.

“We love our world; we love the women, we want to improve health care, we want to improve gender issues, women empowerment, education, well-being of our children. We're trying to fight maternal mortality. We're trying to fight natal mortality. All of these cannot be achieved if we do not address the clean cooking issue,” H.E. Samira Bawumia, Second Lady of Ghana, Ambassador for the Clean Cooking Alliance and first of the seven honorees to speak on the night, told the guests.

“Smallholder farmers that grow the majority of the world's food do not have access to basic technology, training, financing to provide power for their homes, to provide power for their farms. It doesn't have to be this way we could change this narrative”, said Alex Eaton, CEO and Co-Founder of Sistema.bio whose company was honored for creating an innovative biogas system that turns animal waste into clean cooking fuels and produces a planet-friendly fertilizer.

The City of Medellin was honored for its Green Corridors Project that provides shade for cyclists and pedestrians, cools built-up areas and improves air quality along busy roads. “Three decades ago, it was unthinkable that Medellín was recognized for more than its violence. In 1991, we were the most violent city in the world, living every day between pain and fear. Today we embrace that dark past because it brought us to where we are. That adversity allowed us to reach for incredible achievements, working together to turn our difficulties into something better”, said Paula Palacio, Secretary of Infrastructure of Medellín.

The other initiatives presented and honored during the evening were Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) for providing solar power to 900 health care centers and hospitals; Philips Community Life Centers, community-driven and holistic platforms for strengthening primary healthcare, combining renewable energy, energy efficient design and locally relevant medical devices; the city of Ahmedabad for its Heat Action Plan that saved the lives of thousands; as well as the NYC CoolRoofs Initiative for engaging volunteers and green job trainees in applying white, reflective surfaces to roofs.

Find out more about this year’s Seven for 7 honorees.

The celebration, hosted at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice, took place in the week of the critically important 2019 Climate Action Summit and one day after a high-level meeting on universal health coverage at the United Nations General Assembly.

The seven honorees included political leaders, city governments and businesses that are improving lives globally and locally. They are leading and driving action in Ghana, India and Mexico, and in cities as diverse as New York, Medellín and Ahmedabad.

“Energy for all is not just about providing electrons; it is about ensuring all the other things we depend upon can be provided reliably,” said Rachel Kyte, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All.

“This year’s Seven for 7 honorees show innovation in energy for health that can be scaled. Their leadership is lighting up delivery rooms for pregnant women, powering critical medical equipment and ensuring clinics can preserve life-saving vaccines for newborns, children and adults.”

Find out more from the event by following #Sevenfor7 on social media.

The Seven for 7 honorees of 2019 are:

H.E. Hajia Samira Bawumia

Samira Bawumia is the Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana. By leveraging her position of influence, she works relentlessly to improve the lives of women, children and the youth.

As the founder and CEO of Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) she provides critical interventions in the areas of health, education and women’s empowerment. The organization aims to reduce the high rates of maternal and child mortality in the country by distributing birth kits to underprivileged expectant mothers and by providing medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to selected health facilities across Ghana. This is improving the lives of about two million people.

In Ghana, eight out of ten people cook with solid fuels such as wood and charcoal, leading to significant impacts on health, gender equality and the environment. The toxic emissions from cooking this way lead to about 18,000 premature deaths per year. As an Ambassador for the Clean Cooking Alliance, Samira Bawumia is promoting the adoption of clean cooking stoves and fuels in her country, in Africa and across the world.

Sistema.bio

Around the world, more people are killed by illnesses related to indoor air pollution than AIDS and Malaria put together - with polluting cookstoves and open cooking fires a major danger. Biogas provides a healthier and more affordable cooking fuel.

Sistema.bio has created an innovative, affordable biogas system that turns animal waste into clean cooking fuels and produces a planet-friendly fertilizer.

The product's simple, modular design makes it easy to add more capacity if needed, and the option to pay in installments makes it available to farmers. Buyers in Latin America, Africa and Asia no longer must cook using expensive and polluting wood fuel or fossil fuels, reducing deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.

Sistema.bio currently operates in Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Kenya and India. Until now, more than 7,000 biogas systems have been installed – improving the health of thousands of families, saving 1.5 million of trees and mitigating more than 100,000 tons of CO2.

Winner of the 2019 Ashden Award for Clean Cooking

Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA)

Primary Health Centers (PHCs) are the foundation of rural healthcare in India. Although the quality of healthcare improves with access to electricity, one in two health centers in India is either un-electrified or suffers from an irregular power supply (CEEW & Oxfam, 2017).

Before CREDA decided to tackle this, the situation in Chhattisgarh state in the center-east of India (population: 25.5 million) was no different. Most PHCs had no reliable source of power, partly because the state is heavily forested, and this makes grid extension difficult.

The Chhattisgarh State Health Department collaborated with CREDA on a program to provide solar power at all PHCs. After the installation, CREDA contracts installation companies to carry out maintenance for five years. After that, the systems installed in government-owned health centers are maintained by CREDA, which monitors the monthly performance of all systems.

Access to regular electricity has enabled reliable water supply, safe refrigeration for vaccines and powered theatre equipment, fans and baby heaters. Now, about 80,000 patients per day benefit from the solar electrification of 900 health centers and district hospitals.

Winner of the 2018 International Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy and Health

Philips Community Life Centers

In Sub-Saharan Africa, four in ten people have no access to healthcare facilities or personnel, and for those who do, the quality of services is often low. Challenges include a lack of qualified healthcare workers, non-functioning medical equipment, a lack of electricity, water and basic healthcare technology.

Community Life Centers (CLC), developed by Philips Africa Innovation hub, are community-driven and holistic platforms for strengthening primary healthcare, combining renewable energy, energy efficient design and locally relevant medical devices. The centers provide solar power units, water storage containers, LED area lighting to improve the safety of the community as well as solutions for waste management.

In addition, the CLCs can offer a wide range of clinical and medical device training to help improve competencies. Combined with service offerings for maintenance and repair the CLCs help ensure an improvement in quality, readiness and responsiveness of the facility which is so often lacking.

Philips launched Africa's first Community Life Center in GithuraiLang'ata, Kenya aimed at strengthening primary healthcare and enabling community health development. Other centers have been set up in South Africa, Namibia and DR Congo, with plans to deploy these centers across the African continent.

Medellín Green Corridors Project

After enduring years of high crime and violence, Medellín, Colombia's second-largest city (population: 2.5 million) faces a new threat – rising urban temperatures, driven by climate change. The city's response has been to bring people together to plant vegetation and create a better environment for everyone.

The Green Corridors project provides shade for cyclists and pedestrians, cool built-up areas and improved air quality along busy roads. The city's botanical gardens train people from disadvantaged backgrounds to become city gardeners and planting technicians.

So far, Medellín has created parks and alleys along 18 roads and 12 waterways, planting 8,300 trees and 350,000 shrubs. As a result, temperatures have fallen by two or three degrees Celsius in many places, with more significant reductions expected in the future.

Winner of the 2019 Ashden Award for Cooling by Nature

Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan

With 6.4 million people, Ahmedabad in western India is the seventh-largest urban area in India. When in May 2010 over 1,300 people died in a heatwave, the municipal council decided to act. Ahmedabad was the first city in South Asia to design and implement a heat action plan. This was done in coordination with the Indian Institute of Public Health, the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council, and other groups and NGOs.

The plan's primary objective is to alert those populations most at risk of heat-related illness that extreme heat conditions either exist or are imminent. An early warning system is being used during heat waves, accompanied by a public education campaign about how to avoid harm from excessive heat.

Since the plan was launched in 2013, more activities were added, such as the greater use of cool roofs and training for medical professionals to identify and treat victims of extreme heat.

Ahmedabad not only saved thousands of lives, but it also led the way for many other Indian cities as 30 cities in 11 states have now adopted similar plans.

NYC CoolRoofs Initiative

Like many other cities in the world, New York City experiences hot summers during which asphalt roads and concrete buildings store the heat and increase the ambient temperature.

NYC CoolRoofs is a collaboration between the NYC Department of Small Business Services, the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency and Sustainable South Bronx, a division of The HOPE Program to promote and facilitate the cooling of New York City's rooftops.

The initiative also provides local job seekers with training and paid work experience coating these rooftops. The NYC CoolRoofs initiative achieves several goals: lowering indoor temperatures by installing energy-saving reflective rooftops, providing local job seekers with training and work experience, and keeping neighborhoods cooler by installing clusters of reflective rooftops.

Installations are provided at no-cost to nonprofits, affordable housing, select cooperatively-owned housing and select organizations providing public, cultural, or community services. Privately-owned buildings can receive installations at minimal cost. The program also supports the city's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, because it helps decrease the summertime peak energy demand for cooling. Since 2009, the program has coated more than 10 million square feet of rooftops throughout the city.

The Energy Action Forum convened high-level stakeholders to demonstrate a leap in collective ambition to accelerate action towards sustainable energy systems. The Forum was organized to build momentum for the Energy Transition Track of the UN Climate Summit held the following day.

“We have set out our objective in the Sustainable Development Goal 7 on sustainable energy, now we need to move that to real actions on the ground: on the transition to renewables, on energy efficiency and on access to energy that leaves absolutely no one behind,” said Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN.

In line with this call to action, transformational projects and commitments were announced during the Forum.

Launch of the Energy Transition Track Climate Investment Platform

In response to country needs to mobilize low-carbon, climate-resilient investments, the Climate Investment Platform was launched during the Forum as a new global public good aiming to increase the flow of capital in developing countries to meet climate ambitions.

The Climate Investment Platform is an inclusive partnership welcoming all stakeholders from governments and international organizations to the private sector to scale-up climate action and translate ambitious national climate targets into concrete investments on the ground.

“The Climate Investment Platform will help bridge the gap between supply and demand to accelerate capital and scale up climate resilient investments, allowing countries to raise their climate targets and develop policy environments that allow investment to flow,” said Rachel Kyte, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).  

IRENA, SEforALL and UNDP announced the partnership in coordination with Green Climate Fund.

Seven new members join Powering Past Coal Alliance

During one of the ministerial panel events at the Forum, the Powering Past Coal Alliance announced that it is welcoming seven new members and that it is extending its partnership with leading finance sector initiatives.

Germany, Slovakia, the State of New Jersey (USA), the Province of Negros Oriental (Philippines), Puerto Rico, AXA Investment Managers and Schroders joined the Alliance, which is a group of national and sub-national governments, businesses and organisations working to advance the transition away from unabated coal power generation.

With these additional members, the Powering Past Coal Alliance now counts 91 members. The continued growth of the Alliance shows how governments and private sector actors are responding to the challenge laid out by the UN Secretary-General to curtail coal generation and end the construction of new coal plants by 2020.

Heads-of-state call for ambition

The day featured many other inspiring talks and focused discussions around how sustainable energy can support economic growth, alleviate energy poverty and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sahle-Work Zewde, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark, both spoke about the importance of sustainable energy access for their respective countries and for alleviating global inequality.

“Tackling energy poverty is as significant as tackling other areas of poverty,” said Sahle-Work Zewde, President of Ethiopia. “Our goal is to move from energy poverty to sustainable energy for all—for Ethiopia and for the continent.”

Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark stressed that “The transition to green energy must unfold all over the planet, not at the expense of progress, I have to say, but as a driver of progress, where we combine progress, economic development and clean energy, leaving no one behind.”

These speeches are available through the above video.

The Energy Action Forum was organized by the governments of Ethiopia and Denmark—the two co-leads of the Energy Transition Coalition for the UN Climate Action Summit—along with SEforALL and the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit Team.