By Eamonn Ryan, derived from webinar
The UNEP Cool Coalition recently convened a global dialogue titled ‘Cold Chains for a Hot Planet: Cooling for Resilient Food and Health Systems’, an official side event of the UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktaking Moment, held on 30 July 2025. This is part four of a six-part series.
Angshuman Siddhanta, Sustainable Cold Chain Lead at UNEP, opened the session by challenging perceptions: cold chains, often relegated to background logistics, are now frontline tools in the climate and development arena.
“They’re not just about keeping produce fresh or vaccines viable,” Siddhanta emphasised. “They decide whether farmers prosper, whether children are immunised, and whether emissions go up or down.”
He pointed to India’s efforts as a case in point. From a solar-powered, integrated state cold-chain in Haryana to net-zero packhouses being piloted in Bihar, UNEP’s work with Indian state governments exemplifies how policy, technology and climate finance can converge to reshape cold chain systems. These models are not only reducing food loss and emissions but improving farmer incomes by enabling access to distant markets and stabilising prices.
Vaccine lifelines: WHO’s push for climate-smart health logistics
Maricel Castro, technical officer at the World Health Organization (WHO), reframed cold chains as “strategic lifelines” for global health systems – especially as climate disruptions grow more severe.
She highlighted the Gavi Cold Chain Equipment Optimisation Platform (CCEOP), which has enabled the deployment of over 40 000 WHO-prequalified solar direct-drive refrigerators across last-mile facilities in low-income countries. These units not only protect vaccine potency during storage and transport but reduce cold chain failure even during prolonged power outages.
The transition from gas or kerosene refrigerators to clean solar options, particularly in countries like Niger, is transforming health access and reducing the burden on outreach teams. “Solar direct-drive refrigeration is not a technical upgrade – it’s an equity intervention,” said Castro.
Cold chains and the fight against food loss
Johannes Vaskalis from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) illustrated how agri-food systems, responsible for 30% of global energy use and a third of global emissions, can benefit from clean cold chains.
Each year, over 526 million tonnes of food are lost due to poor refrigeration, he noted. FAO’s initiatives in Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia are integrating solar-powered cold storage across horticulture supply chains, enhancing food quality and linking smallholder farmers to more profitable markets.