Sa'ad Ahmed
November 12, 2026
Ramboll unveils cooling solutions for a rapidly urbanising planet at COP31
Ramboll’s latest publication, ‘Integrated urban cooling solutions’, is created in collaboration with Henning Larsen, and with a foreword by UNEP. Released at the UN climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, it presents a range of measures to promote at-scale urban cooling in warming world.
With the UN projecting that cities will be home to two-thirds of global population growth by 2050, Ramboll and Henning Larsen’s ‘Integrated urban cooling solutions’ catalogue sets out the challenge of rising urban heat, and how to help societies to cool and thrive amidst increasing climate-change impact.
The catalogue considers four areas of intervention: water and nature-based solutions, building materials and construction, urban design and masterplanning, and transport and mobility.
Ramboll and Henning Larsen, which is a part of the Ramboll Group, stress the importance of taking a holistic approach, assessing which interventions or combination of interventions are best suited for each case considering local needs, priorities, and geographical features.
With the UN also projecting that megacities – those with 10 million inhabitants or more – will increase to 37 by 2050, this publication focuses on implementing solutions at scale and in anticipation of future developments.
The catalogue is released following a series of collaborative workshops held by Ramboll and UNEP in the Beat the Heat’ initiative following their partnership announcement with the COP30 Presidency in Brazil at COP30.
The cooling catalogue shows how nature, water, buildings and urban planning can work together to create cooler, healthier cities while reducing energy demand and emissions.
Head, Buildings and Cooling Unit, Cool Coalition Secretariat, UNEP
Lily Riahi, Head of UNEP’s Buildings and Cooling Unit, and the Cool Coalition Secretariat, says:
“Extreme heat is already changing how people live and work in cities. Through Beat the Heat, UNEP is helping cities protect their communities while making cooling more sustainable and accessible. Ramboll brings the design and engineering expertise to put that ambition into practice. The cooling catalogue shows how nature, water, buildings and urban planning can work together to create cooler, healthier cities while reducing energy demand and emissions.”
Ramboll, UNEP, and C40 Cities are also collaborating on a tool to measure and tackle urban heating, which is currently in development. UNEP authored the foreword to the catalogue.
Trine Stausgaard Munk, Head of Sustainability – Water, Ramboll, says:
“Urban heat is not simply a question of temperature. It is shaped by historic injustices, outdated planning policies, cultures of overconsumption and a growing disconnect from the living systems we are part of. Water shows us how to design differently: to connect, cool and create conditions for life to thrive. Every design should start with water.”
Jakob Strømann-Andersen, Director, Innovation & Sustainability, Henning Larsen, says:
“Improving biodiversity is one of the best ways to cool our cities. Yet, as cities grow and densify, we continue to lose green spaces and natural habitats. Research suggests that cities may need as much as 60% green cover to achieve significant cooling effects. This challenges how we plan our cities today. We need to rethink urban development and imagine cities where nature is not an add-on, but a fundamental part of the design.”
Read our report to learn more about tangible solutions to rising urban heat.
Want to know more?
Trine Stausgaard Munk
Head of Sustainability, Ramboll Water
Jakob B. Strømann-Andersen
Director, Innovation & Sustainability, Architecture & Landscape
+45 60 35 21 69