Arlington, Virginia, United States, 21 March 2019: The Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA) is inviting stakeholders to participate in the Million Cool Roofs Challenge, which will award USD 1 million to the team most successful in spurring the installation of a million square metres of cool roofs by the end of 2020, said Kurt Shickman, Executive Director, GCCA.

Kurt Shickman, Executive Director, GCCA

Shickman added, “The Million Cool Roofs Challenge is aimed at providing a billion-plus people globally that economically and physically won’t have access to mechanical or electrical cooling, with cooling through passive means.” A project of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP), in collaboration with the Global Cool Cities Alliance, Sustainable Energy for All and Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre, the Challenge aims to “promote sustainable cooling through the rapid scaling of cool roofs in countries, where large numbers of people are facing heat stress risks”.

Elaborating on the mechanics, Shickman said that up to 10 teams will be given grants worth USD100,000 to deploy solar-reflective coating and materials in developments within an eligible country between August 2019 and December 2020. Eligible countries, he said, are those that are signatories of the Kigali amendment. The winning team that will be able to successfully spur the installation of a million square metres of cool roofs by the end of 2020 and meet the judging criteria will be awarded USD 1 million by 2021. According to the GCCA website, materials should also meet minimum performance standards and be applied to roofs of buildings regularly occupied by people.

Shickman said that the grants aim to boost market awareness and performance of cool roofs, globally. Since the announcement, Shickman said, there has been strong expression of interest from both public- and private-sector organisations. Shickman stressed that applications for the grants are still open and that teams from eligible countries can submit completed entry forms until May 20.

For more information on the eligibility, judging criteria and how to apply, visit: https://www.coolroofschallenge.org/apply

Hannah Jo Uy is Assistant Editor at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com