By Eamonn Ryan
In the final part of her address, GIZ managing director Ingrid Gabriela Hoven called on governments, financiers, and the HVAC&R industry to create the enabling conditions needed to mainstream green cooling worldwide.
Global warming and extreme heat events are driving unprecedented demand for air conditioning.
Mdjaff | Magnific.com
Technical solutions for low‑carbon cooling already exist – but without the right finance mechanisms, regulations, and incentives, they will remain niche. Hoven stressed that for green cooling to scale, stakeholders must focus not only on technology but also on the eco‑system around deployment.
She highlighted several critical elements.
Financial instruments – The summit is intended to explore what financial instruments are available to support investments in:
- High‑efficiency cooling equipment
- Natural refrigerant‑based systems
- Retrofitting and replacement of obsolete, high‑GWP stock
- Regulatory and policy frameworks
Hoven pointed to the need for an enabling environment:
- Regulations and standards that favour climate‑friendly technologies
- Policies that incentivise adoption through rebates, tax breaks, or mandatory performance levels
- Clear, stable long-term signals to manufacturers and investors
- Incentive systems and market signals
She called for incentive systems that encourage end users, installers and suppliers to choose greener options:
- Financial incentives for high‑efficiency, low‑GWP systems
- Capacity‑building programmes to support safe handling of natural refrigerants
- Mechanisms to share best practices and lessons learned from implementation
Hoven encouraged participants to use the summit not only to share success stories, but also to discuss “bottlenecks and stumbling blocks” experienced in implementation.
In her closing, she underlined the urgency:
- The subject of green cooling is “super important” for the future
- Efforts must be scaled up rapidly
- Stakeholders need to act in a “more speedy way on the climate resilience that is being needed.”
For the HVAC&R sector, this is a clear call to:
- Engage proactively in policy and standard‑setting processes
- Work with financiers and development agencies to unlock funding for green cooling
- Treat climate‑friendly cooling as core business strategy, not a niche add‑on
