About Global Heat and Cooling Forum

The Global Heat and Cooling Forum (GHCF) is a leading international platform advancing collaborative action to strengthen heat adaptation and climate-friendly cooling. The forum champions a solutions-oriented, equitable, and integrated approach that convenes governments, industry, communities, and experts to drive meaningful and lasting change.

With global temperatures continuing to rise, extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and severe, inflicting mounting damage to human health, productivity and economic systems. These impacts fall most heavily across the Global South, where a widening ‘heat divide’ leaves hundreds of millions without access to adequate cooling. Recognizing the urgency of coordinated, integrated action, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) launched the GHCF in 2025. 

GHCF serves as both an annual convening and a year‑round platform that brings together the people, expertise, and ideas needed to advance practical, scalable approaches for extreme