Cool Up: Upscaling Sustainable Cooling

Energy demand in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is projected to increase by 50 percent by 2040 as a result of climate change, rapidly growing populations, urbanisation, and higher living standards. Cooling represents a large portion of energy consumption and appliances are often inefficient and rely on refrigerants with a high global warming potential. To tackle these problems and mitigate climate change, the Cool Up program promotes accelerated technological change and early implementation of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and Paris Agreement in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. The Cool Up approach is based on four pillars: reducing cooling demand, phasing-down hydrofluorocarbons, replacing and recycling inefficient equipment and refrigerants, and training and awareness raising. The program aims to create catalytic change in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector and ultimately upscale the deployment of sustainable cooling technologies in the market.

Project data

Countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Türkiye
IKI funding: 19,999,726.00 €
Included preparation phase: 756,576.00 €
Duration: 12/2020 till 01/2027
Status: open
Implementing organisation: Guidehouse Germany GmbH
Political Partner: Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change (MoEUCC) - Türkiye

Ministry of Environment - Jordan

Ministry of Environment - Lebanon

Ministry of Environment MoE - Egypt
Implementing Partner: Frankfurt School of Finance & Management gGmbH

Institut für Luft- und Kältetechnik gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mbH (ILK Dresden)

Integrated Development Group (IDG)

National Energy Research Center (NERC) - Jordan

Öko-Recherche GmbH

Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Online: https://www.coolupprogramme.org/

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State of implementation/results

Cool Up contributed to two sessions at meetMED, which took place in April in Hammamet, Tunisia. During the first session on “Solutions for Sustainable Cooling,” the critical role of policy frameworks in advancing the sustainable cooling transition was emphasized. Cool Up experts highlighted the project’s close collaboration with ministries in partner countries particularly in the development of National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs). Policy frameworks like the NCAP lay the groundwork for sustainable cooling development. The discussions focused on identifying potential opportunities to leverage the lessons learned and expected outcomes of Cool Up’s work in partner countries of the MENA region on a wider scale. Cool Up’s second session was organized as a panel discussion on “Empowering Energy Efficiency” and delved into innovative strategies for improving energy efficiency in buildings, emphasizing the integration of renewable energy solutions and smart technologies (www.coolupprogramme.org/…).
In 2024, Cool Up hosted various online-seminars:
- Together with the Chamber of Industry Jordan Cool Up organised an online-event about the upcoming challenges of the Kigali Amendment implementation in Jordan in July 2024 (www.coolupprogramme.org/…).
- In August 2024, Cool Up hosted an online-seminarin collaboration with the Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC) and the National Ozone Unit Lebanon on the “F-gas Regulation in the EU and Lebanon: From policy measures to the market effects” to understand the impact of the Kigali Amendment implementation on local and transboundary markets (www.coolupprogramme.org/…).
- In September 2024, Cool Up hosted an online-seminar in collaboration with the Integrated Development Group (IDG) and the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC) on “From Policy to Practice: F-Gas Regulations Shaping Markets in the EU & Egypt” to understand the impact of the Kigali Amendment implementation on local and transboundary markets (www.coolupprogramme.org/…).
- In May 2024, Cool Up’s country partner in Türkiye, UNDP Türkiye, hosted an online-seminar on “F-gas Regulation on the EU and Türkiye examples: From Policy measures to market effects”. The seminar provided an overview of significant points from the Kigali Amendment and practical examples of its implementation. Additionally, it highlighted the impact of HFC consumption freeze on local industry players, offering insights into relevant political interventions and upcoming F-gas regulations. Türkiye is making significant strides toward phasing down the use of synthetic refrigerants in 2024, transitioning to natural refrigerants in cooling devices (www.coolupprogramme.org/…).
In the first half of 2024, Cool Up conducted 13 training sessions focused on sustainable cooling solutions and natural refrigerants across its partner countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Türkiye. By now, the train-the-trainer sessions targeted over 300 experts from the policy, finance, and industry sectors to enhance cross-sector knowledge transfer, equipping key stakeholders to lead the sustainable cooling transition.
The Cool Up programme was listed in the implementation plan of Jordan’s Economic Modernisation Vision published in November 2023. It was featured in the sustainable environment and green economy section as the main project supporting the Ministry of Environment to upscale sustainable cooling in Jordan.
The call for ideas for the Cool Up demonstration projects opened in January 2023 and closed in March 2023, seeking pioneering projects using technologies that use natural refrigerants or no refrigerants for commercial air conditioning, residential air conditioning, and commercial refrigeration. Cool Up supports the demonstration of sustainable cooling solutions; with selected applicants eligible to receive a range of support, including technical assistance, support in financing the project, and visibility and outreach within the Cool Up scope (www.coolupprogramme.org/…).
Cool Up joined the Cool Coalition in March 2022 to build ties with the large membership base, contribute to their activities that are relevant for Cool Up and vis-a-versa.