Manila, 7 April 2026 — The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cool Coalition, organised a regional workshop to officially launch the Roadmap for Extreme Heat Protection through Passive Cooling in the ASEAN Region. The event was held at Ascott Makati Hotel, Manila, Philippines, on 7 April 2026. The launching event was attended by members of the ASEAN EE&C-SSN Working Group on Building, members of the ASEAN Passive Cooling Advisory Group, government representatives from ASEAN Member States, financial institutions, and relevant stakeholders across ASEAN
Photo 1. Opening Remarks from Naing Naing Linn, Head of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Department, ASEAN Centre for Energy (left), and Sudhir Sharma, Regional Coordinator, Finance and Economic Transformation, UNEP (right).
The event commenced with opening remarks from three speakers. Director Patrick T. Aquino, CESO III, Director IV of the Energy Utilisation Management Bureau, Department of Energy of the Philippines, reaffirmed the Philippines' commitment as ASEAN Chair in 2026 to embedding passive-first principles into building codes, policies, and investment frameworks, and to translating the roadmap into concrete national action.
Naing Naing Linn, Head of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Department at ACE, situated the roadmap within ASEAN's broader energy agenda under APAEC 2026–2030, noting that a passive-first approach directly supports the region's aspirational targets of reducing energy intensity by 40%, achieving a 30% share of renewable energy in TPES, and reaching 45% renewable energy in installed power capacity by 2030.
Sudhir Sharma, Regional Coordinator for Finance and Economic Transformation at UNEP, recalled that the Global Cooling Pledge, launched at COP28 and endorsed by over 70 countries, commits to reducing cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050. He stressed that passive cooling is a critical measure towards this goal and must become the new normal in building design across the region.
Photo 2. Official Launching of the Roadmap for Extreme Heat Protection through Passive Cooling in the ASEAN Region.
Following the opening remarks, the official launching of the Roadmap for Extreme Heat Protection through Passive Cooling in the ASEAN Region took place. The publication was launched by Director Patrick T. Aquino, Naing Naing Linn, and Dr Daniel Collin G. Jornales, Chair of the ASEAN Passive Cooling Advisory Group and Chief Science Research Specialist at the Philippine DOE, alongside Dr Tetsu Kubota, Co-Chair of the Passive Cooling Advisory Group and Professor at Hiroshima University.
Photo 3. Group photo with participants and ASEAN Member State representatives.
Towards Scalable Action: Passive Cooling Initiatives in ASEAN
Photo 4. Presentation by Alexandra Mutungi, Gender and Climate Change Expert, UNEP (left), and Gennai Kamata, Associate Programme Officer, UNEP (right).
Alexandra Mutungi, Gender and Climate Change Expert at UNEP, presented on the EmPower programme's work in ASEAN, highlighting that it has mobilised USD 48 million in investments and supported over 13,000 individuals to adopt clean technology. Through two case studies from Viet Nam and Indonesia, she demonstrated how targeted training and digital tools can deliver measurable emissions reductions at the community level. She made a pointed observation: collateral-based lending continues to shut out women-led enterprises and low-income households from passive cooling finance, and called for inclusive financing instruments to mobilise USD 50 to 75 million for underserved groups by 2030.
Gennai Kamata, Associate Programme Officer at UNEP, presented on the Cool Coalition's role in delivering the Global Cooling Pledge, endorsed by 74 countries at COP28, including four ASEAN Member States. He cited UNEP's Global Cooling Watch report, which found that passive cooling, energy efficiency, and rapid HFC phase-down can collectively cut cooling emissions by more than 60% and provide universal access to cooling. He closed with a concrete example of what regional action looks like in practice: in Cambodia, UNEP's technical support has helped integrate passive cooling targets into the country's Third Nationally Determined Contribution, with mandatory implementation through building energy codes now under active consideration.
Positioning the Roadmap within ASEAN Policy Action on Extreme Heat and Passive Cooling
Photo 5. Presentation by Irma Ramadan, Senior Officer of Energy Efficiency and Conservation, ACE (left), and Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, Senior Officer of Energy Efficiency and Conservation, ACE (right).
Irma Ramadan and Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, both Senior Officers of Energy Efficiency and Conservation at ACE, presented the roadmap's key findings and policy implications. They opened with a striking projection that by 2050, major ASEAN cities could endure 85 to 120 days annually with temperatures exceeding 35°C, with urban areas warming at twice the global average rate.
The case for action is compelling. ACE's building thermal simulations across four ASEAN climate zones demonstrated that passive cooling strategies can reduce cooling energy demand by 35 to 70%, directly supporting APAEC 2026–2030's target of a 40% reduction in energy intensity. By 2050, this translates into a USD 3 trillion financing opportunity for the region.
Yet a critical gap remains between awareness and action. A survey of 168 respondents across all ten AMS found that high initial costs, lack of information, and technical complexity are the leading barriers to adoption. Encouragingly, 83.3% of respondents indicated they would adopt passive cooling strategies if adequate incentives were in place, pointing to the decisive role that policy and financing can play in unlocking demand that already exists.
ASEAN Member States Roundtable
Photo 6. ASEAN Member States Roundtable, moderated by Srinidhi Ravishankar, UNEP, and Zahra Aninda Pradiva, ACE.
Moderated by Srinidhi Ravishankar from UNEP and Zahra Aninda Pradiva from ACE, the AMS roundtable gave each of the ten ASEAN Member States the floor to share their national policies, barriers, and commitments on passive cooling. The interactive discussion that followed explored four themes: current progress, key challenges, priority actions, and opportunities for regional cooperation.
One finding stood out across all ten countries. Despite growing interest in passive cooling, implementation remains held back by the same structural barriers: high upfront costs, limited technical expertise among building professionals, and the absence of mandatory requirements in most national building codes. The AMS roundtable concluded with the commitment to provide supporting policies for passive cooling implementation, including regulation, finance, and the capacity of the stakeholders.
Donor Roundtable: Presentation and Panel Discussion on the Implementation Strategies of the Passive Cooling Roadmap
Photo 7. Donor Roundtable presentations and panel discussion, moderated by Sudhir Sharma, Regional Coordinator, Finance and Economic Transformation, UNEP.
Moderated by Sudhir Sharma of UNEP, the Donor Roundtable opened with presentations from three development partners. Kathryn Milliken, Senior Climate Change Specialist at the Asian Development Bank, outlined ADB's support for climate-resilient buildings in Southeast Asia. Dr Tetsu Kubota, Professor at Hiroshima University and JICA-nominated expert, drew on lessons from passive cooling demonstration projects across ASEAN Member States. Manoj Kumar Muthumanickam, Task Manager for GEF Climate Change Mitigation at UNEP, outlined financing opportunities under the Global Environment Facility for integrating passive cooling into national climate plans.
The panel discussion found that the barrier to scaling passive cooling is not a shortage of technically sound solutions. It is the absence of bankable project pipelines, supportive policy frameworks, and risk-sharing mechanisms capable of mobilising private capital alongside public finance. Grants and technical assistance, the panel agreed, are necessary but not sufficient. What is needed is a layered financing architecture combining regulatory incentives, concessional finance, and de-risking instruments. Country representatives reinforced this, pointing to building code reform, professional capacity building, and green building financial products tailored to ASEAN conditions as the most urgent priorities.
Photo 8. Closing Remarks from Naing Naing Linn, ASEAN Centre for Energy (left), and Gennai Kamata, UNEP (right)
The workshop concluded with closing remarks from Naing Naing Linn, Head of the EE&C Department at ACE, Gennai Kamata, Associate Programme Officer at UNEP, and Dr Daniel Collin G. Jornales, Chair of the ASEAN Passive Cooling Advisory Group and Chief Science Research Specialist at the Department of Energy of the Philippines. The three speakers thanked participants for their contributions and reaffirmed the collective commitment of ACE, UNEP, and the ASEAN Member States to support the roadmap's dissemination and implementation. They stressed that the roadmap is not an endpoint but a foundation for sustained collaboration to mainstream passive cooling across the region's policy, regulatory, and investment frameworks.
Site Visit to One Ayala, Manila
Photo 9. Site visit to One Ayala, Manila, led by the DOE Philippines team.
After the launching workshop, representatives from ASEAN Member States, ACE, UNEP, and invited speakers joined a site visit to One Ayala, a landmark mixed-use development in Makati City, Manila, led by the DOE Philippines team. The site visit provided participants with a practical demonstration of energy-efficient and climate-responsive building design features applicable in a tropical urban context, complementing the technical and policy discussions held during the morning sessions.
