Accessing Sustainable Cooling in Off-Grid Rural Areas: Nexus between Access to Energy and to Clean Cooling

This report aims to increase awareness and start a discussion among stakeholders on several important but little explored topics: access to efficient and clean cooling in off-grid rural areas, its nexus with access to electricity, and the synergistic development impact of addressing both needs. Efforts on cooling services have predominantly focused on urban rather than rural areas, where cooling needs have been largely unseen and unmet. This report focuses on three types of cooling needs in off-grid rural areas: (1) human safety and comfort; (2) agriculture and food security; and (3) health care. Based on a literature review and electrification experiences on the ground, it seeks to clarify key concepts related to cooling needs and opportunities and the synergies with access to electricity, identify important issues and barriers along with tools to address them, and, based on this initial assessment, formulate early recommendations and signal areas for further work. Situated at the nexus between access to electricity and cooling in off-grid rural areas, the report’s audience consists of policymakers and project managers in governments and development partners advancing access to energy and sustainable cooling, as well as private actors in electricity and cooling sectors, and stakeholders in related sectors (including agriculture, health care, climate change, and environment).