Green Cooling Initiative III

Rising temperatures, growing populations and increasing prosperity are increasing the global demand for cooling. At the same time, conventional cooling technologies lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and damage to the ozone layer. The project strengthens key actors in public and private sector institutions in the partner countries to make their refrigeration and air conditioning sector sustainable and to achieve their goals within the framework of multilateral agreements such as the Montreal Protocol. In concrete terms, the project supports the implementation of regionally adapted sustainable sector strategies and effectively introduces the issue of sustainable cooling into the national climate discourse. It also makes financing instruments for green cooling technologies more widely available and establishes a training system for refrigeration and air conditioning technicians.

Project data

Countries: Colombia, Honduras, Kenya, Thailand, Uganda, Viet Nam, Bangladesh
IKI funding: 6,500,000.00 €
Duration: 08/2021 till 12/2025
Status: open
Implementing organisation: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Political Partner: Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry (MECCF) - Kenya

Ministry of Environment and Forests - Bangladesh

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MinAmbiente) - Colombia

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) - Thailand

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) - Viet Nam

Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment - Honduras

Ministry of Water and Environment - Uganda

National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) - Uganda
Implementing Partner: Kyambogo University Uganda
Online: https://www.green-cooling-initiative.org/

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State of implementation/results

The project supports the implementation of regionally adapted sustainable sector strategies. The focus here is on the market launch of air conditioning and refrigeration technology that utilises natural refrigerants and is energy-efficient. To this end, propane-based air conditioning units have been installed in public buildings and training institutes in Kenya, Thailand and Uganda to demonstrate their functionality and efficiency.
The project effectively introduces the topic of sustainable cooling into national and international climate discourses. Various events have been organised at international conferences, such as the 35th Conference of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol and the 28th World Climate Conference. For example, in Bangladesh, an information event on propane as a natural refrigerant was organised to mark the annual World Ozone Day. To publicise the topic to a broad audience in Kenya, a live talk show with representatives of the project, the political partner, industry and the national climate movement was held on World Ozone Day 2024 on one of the most popular TV stations.
In addition, the project is making financing instruments for green cooling technologies more widely accessible. In Colombia, advisory services were prodived on a financial architecture for the introduction of sustainable cooling systems in supermarkets. The state partners, mostly national ozone protection units, were supported in the development of project proposals through which additional funding can be provided.
A major focus is on training refrigeration technicians in the use of natural refrigerants. More than 1,700 people have now been trained in all partner countries. In order to anchor this training content in the long term, the project has worked with various training centres and government agencies to incorporate the relevant content into training curricula, some of which have already been adopted and are in widespread use. In eastern Africa, efforts are being made to establish a regional qualification, certification and registration system for refrigeration technicians.

Latest Update:
04/2025