Birmingham, UK, 17 December 2018: University of Birmingham ‘clean cold’ experts, in collaboration with the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) and the UK Government, have launched an innovative new online tool that will help accelerate the spread of affordable sustainable energy innovation and tackle climate change, the University announced in a Press communiqué. The tool and related support materials are accessible at www.clean-cooling.ac.uk, the communiqué said.

Dr Toby Peters, Professor in Cold Economy, University of Birmingham, and Dr Peter Warren, Head of International Cooling Finance and Policy, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), launched the Global Clean Cooling Landscape Assessment, on December 12, at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 24), in Poland, the communiqué said. Developed by the University of Birmingham and Heriot-Watt University and Flexible Power Systems, the unique toolkit gives an introduction to sustainable cooling and the challenges it poses, the communiqué further said. The online resource also includes information on how we can come together to act now, before it is too late, the communiqué added.

The toolkit was launched at the conference in Katowice, as part of an event organised by BEIS on ‘Low Carbon Cooling: Scaling-Up Innovation, Finance and Deployment’, the communiqué said. The Global Clean Cooling Landscape Assessment is the result of extensive collaboration with industry, government, finance, NGO and academic experts across 12 countries, the communiqué further said.

Commenting on the toolkit, Dr Peters, said: “Cooling is essential to our modern society and one of the biggest threats to our planet. Ever-increasing demand for cooling will result in spiralling energy usage with a potentially disastrous environmental impact, if left unchecked. We must deliver clean and sustainable cooling, tackling climate change and toxic air pollution by adopting zero-emission technologies.”

The Clean Cooling Landscape Assessment was supported through a grant from the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program. Dan Hamza-Goodacre, Executive Director, Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program, said: “This assessment will help investors, foundations, and buyers and sellers of cooling across the globe better understand the technology and business model options that can urgently scale up efficient, clean cooling for the benefit of people and planet.”

Dr Peters added: “There is a massive global market for sustainable cooling technology and the UK is very good at delivering innovation in this area. Our Clean Cooling Landscape Assessment shows where investment can create impact. It will help to break down barriers to deploying sustainable cooling and help investors to assess technologies and solutions.”