Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
Require Government to publish a clear timetable for the UK national cooling action plan.
Recommendation
We commend the UK Government on being among the first signatories of the Global Cooling Pledge, which represents a significant step forward in terms of heat resilience and sustainable cooling, and is a welcome demonstration of international leadership in this area. In particular we note the commitment under the GCP to produce a national cooling action plan. We hope our inquiry and the findings set out in this report assist in shaping what this looks like and we remain keen to continue to work constructively with all relevant Departments on this topic. In response to this report, we expect the Government to set out a clear and achievable timetable for the introduction of a UK national cooling action plan as required by the Global Cooling Pledge. (Paragraph 102) Heat resilience and sustainable cooling 41
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to develop and publish a 'cooling outlook document' as the UK's equivalent to a national cooling action plan. They anticipate its publication in the early part of the next parliament, ahead of the 2026 target.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Government welcome the Committee’s report collating the findings of the inquiry. As noted the Global Cooling Pledge includes a commitment to “publishing a national cooling action plan, considering cooling when publishing a national action plan, or publishing a regulation or equivalent by 2026 and to reflect relevant efforts in designing nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement and HFC phase-down plans”. Our approach to meet this will involve developing an equivalent document appropriate for the UK in the form of a cooling outlook document. This cooling outlook document will provide a consolidated view of cooling across sectors in the UK, and will serve as a framework for bringing together existing relevant policies, data on emissions and refrigeration, and evidence on the cooling market in the UK. The findings collated in the Committee’s report will be a valuable resource for this. As well as fulfilling the Cooling Pledge commitments, the cooling outlook document will provide a central repository for UK cooling policies and initiatives, highlighting Government’s efforts, fostering collaboration and partnerships, and will provide a mechanism for identifying priorities, gaps, and opportunities for sustainable cooling. As committed to in the Global Cooling Pledge we are working to publish this cooling outlook document in advance of the target date of 2026. We anticipate this will be published in the early part of the next parliament. We are currently engaged in the early stages of development to design the scope of the cooling outlook document. Given this is a cross-cutting issue we will be working across Government and with other stakeholders in its development. We welcome the opportunity to share the progress with the Committee as the document develops.