In our warming world, one billion people live without access to sustainable cooling. Rising temperatures put their health at risk, threaten their crops and can make sleeping and studying almost impossible.
Many can’t afford air conditioning – and even if they could, its use would further worsen the climate crisis. There is an urgent need for affordable, sustainable cooling solutions.
That’s why Ashden and K-CEP have launched the Fair Cooling Fund – a $1 million project helping frontline innovators pilot or expand cooling services for those most vulnerable to extreme heat.
These organisations taking part are receiving technical support and funding of up to $100,000, as part of a collaborative process designed to spark fresh and bold thinking on this crucial issue.
Meet our sustainable cooling pioneers
cBalance: bringing architecture students and communities together to retrofit informal housing to improve thermal comfort in India – especially at night when it is often too hot to sleep.
ECOnsult:Â making the case for alternatives to energy-intensive air-conditioning for cooling: demonstrating how to integrate indigenous architectural knowledge into housing design for low-income communities in Egypt to keep residents cool.
Ecozen is a clean technology company enabling a climate smart farm-to-fork value chain for perishables. Their hardware (cold rooms) and market linkage platform enables farmers to grow more, reduce agri-produce loss and sell at better price. Ecozen is commited to providing great technology with economic viability, and through the Fair Cooling Fund will introduce and pilot a smaller version of their existing product, to reduce the barriers to access cooling for small holder farmers, food growers and businesses in India.
MASS Design Group:Â launching a research and communications initiative with Rwandan homeowners to discover and replicate more thermally efficient alternatives to metal roofs. Collaborating with suppliers to make solutions accessible.
City of Medellin: developing an urban planning methodology to enable other cities in Colombia – and ultimately the world – to follow in the city’s pioneering footsteps, introducing biodiversity to the urban landscape to mitigate climate change impacts and tackle social inequalities.
PEG Africa:Â testing different loan and sustainable refrigeration models to ensure cold storage is available to fish processors and other businesses in rural Ghana. The initiative will include an investigation into the needs of, preferences of and possibilities for women entrepreneurs.
Promethean Power Systems: Pioneering a new service and service infrastructure for chilling, processing and distributing milk and dairy in rural India, in partnership with NGO Swayam Shikshan Prayog. This work will enable small-scale farmers – many of them women – to store and combine their produce in optimal conditions, accessing further away markets and commanding a more competitive price.
