GSEP Cool Roofs and Pavements Working Group

The Cool Roofs and Pavements Working Group formed as a subgroup within the Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership (GSEP) at the second Clean Energy Ministerial in April 2011 with the goals of reducing energy use in buildings, improving the health and resiliency of urban populations and mitigating the warming effects of climate change.  GSEP is an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC).

The Cool Roofs and Pavements Working Group had its first meeting in September 2011.  The meeting brought together more than 30 technical experts, government officials, industry and non-profit representatives from India, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and the United States.  The official Working Group includes India, Japan, Mexico and the United States.  Together, these countries include 8 of the world’s largest 20 cities.

Participants agreed to collaborate at local, regional, national and multinational levels to accelerate development and deployment of cool roofs and pavements.  Where feasible, the Working Group will seek to incorporate cool roofs and pavements into existing programs, protocols and organizations.

Click here for presentations and materials from meeting.

The Working Group has identified four initial objectives:

  • Collect information and tools of existing working group partners in an accessible repository.  Draft case studies and identify best practices of cool roof and pavement development efforts including partnership models, code development, incentives and financing.
  • Promote cool roofs and pavements and identify or develop champions to drive development and implementation – with a focus on city leaders and market makers.
  • Develop projects with partners to demonstrate the efficacy of cool roofs and pavements to the public, policymakers and the private sector.
  • Provide technical assistance to develop infrastructure for testing, rating and ongoing research at the local/regional level by nationally-recognized labs using international standards.

Next Steps

The Working Group recommends the following actions be taken by each partner country:

  • Agree to draft a country-specific cool roofs and pavements work plan.
  • Assign a point of contact in each country responsible for supporting the aggregation of data and case studies for the online repository.
  • Identify at least one site per country for a demonstration project.  Prioritize sites in high-profile locations (e.g. cities) or close to high-profile events.
  • Communicate to stakeholders cool roofs and pavements.