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Thursday, 12 November 2026 · New Delhi

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Environment· Prelims · GS-III

Cool Leaders Award 2026: Singapore, the UAE and Dong Mingzhu Honoured for Sustainable Cooling

The first Cool Leaders Awards, announced in Singapore in September 2026, honoured Singapore for passive cooling, the UAE for district cooling and Dong Mingzhu for ultra-efficient low-carbon cooling technology, under the UNEP-led Cool Coalition's Global Cooling Pledge.

By Harsh12 November 20261 min readbasic
Cool Leaders Award 2026: Singapore, the UAE and Dong Mingzhu Honoured for Sustainable Cooling | UPSC

Cool Leaders Award 2026: Singapore, the UAE and Dong Mingzhu Honoured for Sustainable Cooling

The inaugural Cool Leaders Awards were announced on 17 September 2026 at the Global Cooling Pledge Assembly 2026 in Singapore, held from 15 to 18 September 2026. The awards are given by the UNEP-led Cool Coalition and recognise leadership in sustainable cooling across policy, technology innovation and implementation. The first recipients were Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Dong Mingzhu, Chairwoman of Gree Electric Appliances of China.

Cool Leaders Award 2026: three ways to cool sustainablySingaporePassive coolingHeat resilienceDesign-led cooling fora hot, dense cityUnited Arab EmiratesDistrict coolingClimate and development policyChilled water forwhole neighbourhoodsDong Mingzhu, GreeLow-carbon technologyZero Carbon Source ACUltra-efficient air conditioningThe pledge behind the awardGlobal Cooling Pledge, COP28 (2023): cut cooling-related emissions by at least 68% by 2050, against 2022.68% cut by 2050Cool Coalition, led by UNEP, established 2019. Assembly: Singapore, 15-18 September 2026.
The inaugural Cool Leaders Awards were announced at the Global Cooling Pledge Assembly in Singapore on 17 September 2026.

Cooling is a climate problem as well as a comfort: demand for space cooling is rising fastest in the hottest countries, and conventional air conditioning is energy-hungry and often runs on refrigerants with high global warming potential. The Cool Coalition was established in 2019 to push efficient, climate-friendly cooling, and the Global Cooling Pledge, launched at COP28 in 2023, commits signatories to cutting cooling-related emissions by at least 68% by 2050 compared with 2022 levels.

Why Cooling Counts in Climate Policy

Passive cooling, designing buildings and cities so they need less mechanical cooling, and district cooling, supplying chilled water to whole neighbourhoods from a central plant, both cut energy use at scale, while efficient appliances cut the emissions of each unit. The three recipients map onto the three levers: Singapore on design and heat resilience, the UAE on infrastructure, and Dong Mingzhu on the technology inside the machine. For mains, the award is a useful example of how climate action now extends beyond energy supply into the demand side of everyday life.

Key Terms

Prelims practice

Answer key

Mains Practice question

Cooling demand in India is set to rise sharply with incomes and temperatures. Discuss the case for treating sustainable cooling, passive design, district cooling and efficient appliances, as climate policy rather than only as an energy-efficiency measure.

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