500 attendees convened at the 2026 Yale Cooling Conference with a focus on practical, on-the-ground action to cut downstream cooling emissions, amid the backdrop of a global transition from HFCs towards more climate-friendly systems built on a strong foundation in both international and U.S. law. With the emissions abatement potential of global lifecycle refrigerant management (LRM) estimated at 39 billion metric tons CO2-equivalent (MTCO2e), the question of how to build operational and market models capable of scaling recovery, reclamation, and destruction has immense climate importance. Additionally, this transition presents a unique opportunity to create sustainable cooling systems that also advance affordability, energy efficiency, and workforce development around the world. 

The conference brought together stakeholders from 30 countries to identify practical near-term opportunities to advance LRM and alternative cooling technologies (ACTs). Attendees, both in-person and remote, represented equipment manufacturers and end-users, cooling startups, local, state, and national governments, regulators, NGOs, carbon credit project developers and buyers, and the financial sector. 

Through keynote presentations, panels, an innovation showcase, and moderated workshops, the conference turned to the hurdles impeding execution of proven cooling strategies. Again and again, breakout sessions returned to the same practical necessities for refrigerant management and sustainable cooling to become ordinary business practice rather than episodic initiatives: better data, tighter operational integration, improved standardization, and clearer allocation of responsibility across value chains. Participants also considered what financing structures could fund recovery infrastructure, scale up ACT deployment, and support sustainable business models where carbon credits alone are not enough. 

You can find the recording of the opening session here. This report provides a summary of the conference sessions and identified barriers, solutions, and actions, compiled and prioritized by the CC Lab Cooling Team.