Nairobi, June 17, 2025 — The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, in collaboration with the GIZ Proklima, hosted a joint workshop marking the official closure of the GIZ Green Cooling Initiative (GCI) III and the kick-off of the Green Room Air Conditioning (GRACE) Project start. The event took place at the Radisson Hotel, Nairobi, and brought together key stakeholders from government, the private sector, academia, industry and NGOs
The Green Cooling Initiative, implemented by GIZ, funded under the International Climate Initiative under the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), has been implemented since august 2021, significantly advanced Kenya’s transition to sustainable and climate and environmentally friendly cooling solutions. Among the major impacts of the initiative were:
- Policy Advancements: Support for trainings on the revision and strengthening of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and labels, helping to align Kenya’s regulatory framework with international climate and energy efficiency goals.
- Market Studies: Comprehensive market analysis on household refrigeration and non-ducted air conditioning units, laying the groundwork for informed policymaking and industry guidance on MEPS and labels revision or development.
- Data Platform Development: Establishment of a centralized data management platform to track key data that useful in regulation of cooling appliances under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
- Capacity Building: Around 400 refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) trainers and technicians were trained in the safe handling of natural refrigerants, R290 and CO2 in commercial refrigeration, R290 in split Air Conditioners (ACs), bracing competences and energy efficiency.
- Revision curriculums of two TVET bodies (NITA and KICD) and inclusion of natural refrigerants.
- Support the establishment of a supply chain of highly energy efficient, climate and environmentally friendly PFAS free R290 split ACs.
- Over 100 R290 ACs have been installed for demonstration purposes or donated to around 11 RAC training institutes.
- Donation of a supermarket CO2 transcritical ejector training RACK and training of trainers and industry.
- Training of 38 national and regional (Africa) policymakers on negotiations skills.
During the workshop, participants celebrated these achievements while looking ahead to the new Green Room Air Conditioning (GRACE) Project, which will build on the foundations laid by the Green Cooling Initiative. The GRACE project aims to promote the use of climate and environmentally friendly refrigerants in room air conditioning systems and strengthen market readiness for natural refrigerant-based Air conditioning appliances.
The stakeholders emphasized the importance of continued collaboration between government agencies, private sector actors, and international partners to meet Kenya’s climate targets under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and the Paris Agreement.
