Annex 97 / Task 5 entered 2025 in its official one-year preparation phase following a unanimous decision by both the IEA EBC Executive Committee and the IEA Cities TCP Executive Committee. With the preparation phase now completed, the Annex will proceed as planned into its three-year working phase.

Throughout 2025, the draft Annex Text was continuously refined in line with the evolving work plan. In parallel, a detailed work plan for the working and reporting phase was developed. This plan provides structured descriptions of the planned activities for each subtask, including objectives, methods and sources, expected results, target audiences, anticipated impacts, as well as schedules and milestones.

Deliverables

The Annex will produce:

• a State-of-the-Art Report on Sustainable Cooling in Cities
• KPIs for evaluating urban cooling solutions and their impact on people
• Guidelines for experimental and simulation methods
• Technology profiles and an urban cooling guideline
• Policy recommendations, including a policy brief

The content of the State-of-the-Art Report has been finalized and is currently under internal review. Submission will follow once editing is completed.

Cooperation with AIVC and venticool has been established to strengthen impact and outreach of research outcomes and deliverables. Through the IEA Cities TCP, a link to the Mediterranean Association of National Agencies for Energy Management (MEDENER) has been created. In addition, the IEA Secretariat was asked to support the establishment of further ties and cooperation with organizations from hot countries of the Global South. In total, 21 countries are currently involved in the Annex.

To support continuous exchange, a LinkedIn group dedicated to Annex 97 / Task 5 “Sustainable Cooling in Cities” has been launched. The group serves as the main platform for sharing interim results, relevant events and useful publications, and provides opportunities for informal networking and collaboration across countries and disciplines.

Join the LinkedIn group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/10088501/

Expert Meeting in Madrid, 23–24 April 2026

The first expert meeting will take place in Madrid on 23 and 24 April 2026, starting the day after the AIVC workshop on “Climate Change and Resilient Ventilation”. Participants working in the field or interested in the topic are encouraged to plan their arrival accordingly. Further information on the AIVC workshop is available here.

For further information on Annex 97 / Task 5 please contact Peter Holzer or Philipp Stern