At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, delegates are confronting a central paradox of climate innovation: how to deploy powerful tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced cooling systems without worsening the very crisis they are meant to solve.
AI is already being used to help farmers predict droughts and manage crops more efficiently, but the environmental cost of running large data centres is raising concerns. At the same time, cooling, once a luxury, now a necessity in many regions, has become one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
At the heart of this year’s talks is the long-awaited Technology Implementation Programme, which seeks to accelerate access to life-saving innovations in developing countries. However, progress remains slow, with financing gaps, intellectual property restrictions, and commercial barriers hampering the rollout of green technologies.
COP30 Executive Director Ana Toni joined discussions on Monday on technological innovations that could accelerate climate action, including flood warning systems, methane-monitoring satellites, and energy-efficiency breakthroughs.
On Tuesday, delegates launched the Beat the Heat Implementation Drive, a partnership between Brazil’s COP30 Presidency, the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Cool Coalition. The initiative aims to make cooling both more accessible and less polluting as heatwaves become increasingly deadly.
Cooling demand is projected to triple by 2050, while emissions from the sector could nearly double without urgent intervention, according to UNEP’s Global Cooling Watch 2025 report. The Beat the Heat campaign promotes a Sustainable Cooling Pathway, combining passive design, nature-based solutions, and clean technologies, that could cut emissions by up to **97% if paired with rapid decarbonisation.
“It’s not just about air conditioners,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “Cooling must be treated as essential infrastructure, alongside water and energy. But we cannot air-condition our way out of the heat crisis.”
More than 185 cities and 72 countries have already joined the initiative, which seeks to close policy, finance, and delivery gaps for vulnerable communities most exposed to extreme heat.
Although AI is not part of the formal COP30 negotiations, it has featured prominently in the Action Agenda, a platform mobilising voluntary action from civil society, businesses, and local governments.
Brazil’s Government is among those highlighting AI’s potential for climate resilience. A notable example comes from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, where researcher Alisa Luangrath developed an AI-powered irrigation system in Savannakhet Province, a region suffering from water stress.
Luangrath’s innovation earned her the 2025 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change “AI for Climate Action” Award. The system integrates soil sensors, groundwater data, and meteorological information to forecast land and water conditions, sending real-time updates to farmers via a mobile app.
She said that her goal is to expand the technology’s reach across vulnerable regions: “All AI models and data tools developed under the project will be made open source, so that any community can adapt and improve them.”
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
