CoolPact Capital at London Climate Action Week 2025
June 25, 2025
Setting the Stage
As London Climate Action Week began, London and cities across Europe were faced by extreme heat waves. In less than two weeks, high temperatures were estimated to have contributed to the death of 2,300 people across 12 major European cities, highlighting the urgent and growing need for sustainable cooling solutions globally.
Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet: A CoolPact Event
Amid this critical moment, CoolPact Capital hosted “Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet” at Sustainable Ventures during London Action Climate Week. This event brought together climate adaptation and mitigation thought leaders including Alan Miller (Managing Director, CoolPact Capital), Bishal Thapa (Chief Strategy & Impact Officer, CLASP), Mehul Jain (Sr. Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank), Prima Madan (Director of Cooling & Efficiency, NRDC), and the moderator Joyita Mukherjee (Managing Director, CoolPact Capital). Together, the panel discussed scaling sustainable cooling solutions with a specific outlook on India.
The key takeaways included the following:
- The Urgency of Sustainable Cooling: As temperatures rise and urbanization accelerates, the need for effective cooling solutions is becoming urgently important. In particular, India faces a unique challenge: while only about 10% of households currently own air conditioners, the demand is projected to dramatically increase. The annual national sales are expected to reach 30 million units by 2030 and with a total of 300 million units in circulation, representing a fivefold increase from 2024. In response to this need, the Government of India launched of the India Cooling Action Plan, setting the stage for a coordinated national strategy to address the growing cooling needs and reduce environmental impact. Additionally, the IFC estimated that the financing opportunity for cooling in developing economies will range from $600 billion to $1.5 trillion by 2050.
- Financing and the “Missing Middle”: Despite the vast market potential, less than 1% of the $18 billion in climate investment capital deployed in India between 2020 and 2023 has gone toward sustainable cooling. While there is strong early-stage traction from accelerators, incubators, grants, and angel capital, there is a critical shortage of early-stage growth capital to help SMEs and attract later-stage private equity. The panel also emphasized that bridging this financing gap is essential for scaling innovation and delivering sustainable cooling at the pace and scale required.
- Policy, Innovation, and the Kigali Amendment: The Kigali Amendment is driving a transition to low-GWP refrigerants and opening a crucial window for retooling equipment and technologies. Implementing the Kigali Amendment in India alone could reduce 2 to 6 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2050. The discussion also highlighted the importance of lifecycle refrigerant management which will require investment on workforce development, technician training, and innovative business models for refrigerant recovery, reclamation, and reuse. Additionally, passive cooling strategies (such as improved building design, ventilation, insulation, and cool roofs) can also deliver significant energy savings. India’s National Cooling Action Plan projects that these measures could reduce space cooling energy consumption by an additional 20%.
- People-Centered Approaches and the Role of Collaboration: A recurring message was the importance of people-centered financing and cross-sectoral collaboration. The widespread adoption of affordable and efficient air conditioners in India is possible but dependent on the right combination of financing, incentives, and government collaboration. ACs are now critical for reducing heat-related deaths and illnesses and for supporting productivity in extreme heat. However, inefficient ACs contribute to climate change and strain power grids.
Additional Thought Leadership at LCAW
Our Managing Directors also participated in two other LCAW events. Joyita Mukherjee participated as a panelist at an event hosted by the Climate Policy Initiative “Accelerating Climate Finance: A Conversation with Investors and Innovators.” The panel delved into how innovative, Lab-backed solutions are unlocking capital for climate adaptation and mitigation in emerging markets. Alan Miller participated in the Guidehouse roundtable “The Under Explored Gap: Multifaceted Risks Posed by Extreme Heat.” The roundtable explored the vulnerabilities of essential services to extreme heat and identified gaps in current preparedness and response strategies.
Looking Ahead
CoolPact Capital remains committed to continuing to drive the conversation around the urgent need for sustainable cooling and vitality of catalytic capital in India and other emerging markets. Stay tuned for our upcoming event, “Promoting More Sustainable and Affordable Cooling: Challenges and Opportunities,” co-hosted with the Daikin Sustainability & Innovation Center on July 30, in Washington, D.C.