The implementation phase of the Global Mutirão Against Extreme Heat / Beat the Heat has been launched by the COP30 Presidency and the Cool Coalition, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The project aims to speed up the use of sustainable cooling and heat-resilience solutions in cities around the world. It turns the promises made in the Global Cooling Pledge into real action.
So far, 185 cities have joined the Global Mutirão Against Extreme Heat / Beat the Heat, and 72 countries have supported the Global Cooling Pledge.
This pledge aims to cut cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050.
On June 18, 2025, the Global Climate Mutirão (a global collective effort) was presented at the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies Conference in Bonn, Germany. It highlighted the important role of local communities in putting climate solutions into practice and making sure the transition is fair and inclusive.
According to COP30 CEO Ana Toni, the Global Mutirão Against Extreme Heat / Beat the Heat is one of the best ways to show what is being achieved at the conference.
Ana explained that people easily understand the problem of heat because they feel it in their daily lives. The initiative connects with people on a personal level, helping them understand why it is important to support international climate agreements and the coalitions formed around them. “People are feeling the heat everywhere,” she emphasised.
Ana also said that this global effort is a good example of how the world can come together for a shared goal. She added that, through training, local action, and innovation, mayors and the private sector can help make the initiative a success, with technology playing a key role.
“If we truly succeed in expanding this Mutirão, we will see how many more cities will be part of Beat the Heat by the end of COP30,” she said.
According to a new UNEP report, global demand for cooling is expected to triple by 2050, which could make climate change worse and put pressure on power systems.
The report also says that following a sustainable cooling pathway could cut cooling-related emissions by 64% by 2050, protect 3 billion people from extreme heat, and save up to $43 trillion in electricity and infrastructure costs.
Published by the Cool Coalition and led by UNEP, the report is the most complete study so far on the world’s rising need for cooling and the urgent need for eco-friendly solutions.
The Sustainable Cooling Pathway aims to provide access to cooling and refrigeration, stronger buildings, and greener urban spaces for everyone — including vulnerable and low-income groups such as small farmers, women, and the elderly — without making the climate crisis worse.
Brazil’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, pointed out that about 20 million children and teenagers in Brazil go to schools that are not adapted to high temperatures and do not have air conditioning.
She emphasized the need to put in place a set of actions to deal with extreme heat through three connected areas: mitigation, adaptation, and transformation.
“The mitigation agenda addresses the root cause of extreme heat. The adaptation agenda recognises that, since it is already happening, we must develop synergistic and sustainable ways to respond.
“Finally, the transformation agenda represents a longer-term, structural process that will allow us to resolve — or at least seek to resolve — the problem,” the minister emphasised.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said that under the Global Cooling Pledge, 72 countries are already working together to cut cooling-related emissions by more than 60% by 2050 while also improving access to sustainable cooling.
Inger explained that meeting these goals is very important because extreme heat is a clear warning of a climate crisis.
She added that extreme heat is already deadly, causing around half a million deaths every year, and that the situation is likely to get worse if action is not taken.
“Access to cooling must be treated as essential infrastructure — just like water, energy, and sanitation — because cooling saves lives and keeps economies, schools, and hospitals running,” said the Executive Director.
Extreme heat is already one of the main results of the climate crisis and one of the biggest challenges for cities around the world.
Representatives from several cities said that the growth of urban areas has made these problems worse, leading to risks such as people being forced to move and an increase in informal housing.
Others stressed that it is impossible to fight the climate crisis without social justice — and the other way around.
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