From Montreal to Guwahati: Assam’s New Cooling Imperative

On World Ozone Day, Assam launches its State Cooling Action Plan as rising temperatures reshape the demand for cooling, linking the legacy of the Montreal Protocol and Kigali Amendment with energy efficiency, responsible refrigerant management, forests, youth participation and public ownership of climate action

PAHARI BARUAH

Guwahati, September 16, 2026: The ozone layer may be far above Assam, but the decisions that affect the atmosphere are increasingly being made on the ground, in buildings, factories, transport systems, cold-storage facilities and households. This was the larger significance of Assam’s observance of World Ozone Day on September 16, when the state used an international environmental occasion to address a problem that is becoming increasingly local and immediate: how to provide cooling in a warming climate without adding unnecessarily to the forces driving that warming.

At the Assam Administrative Staff College in Khanapara, Guwahati, the Assam Climate Change Management Society, under the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department of the Government of Assam, organised the state-level celebration of World Ozone Day 2026 under the theme “Global Action for a Cooler Planet: Celebrating 10 Years of Sustainable Cooling under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.” The central event was the launch of the Assam Cooling Action Plan, prepared by ACCMS with technical collaboration from the World Resources Institute India. The occasion brought together senior government officials, academics, industry representatives, students and environmental stakeholders around an issue that is likely to become increasingly important to Assam’s economy and public life.

The timing was significant because 2026 marks ten years since the adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol, agreed in 1987, was created to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by controlling and eventually phasing out substances that damaged it. Kigali extended that environmental framework into the climate arena by establishing a global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, many of which are potent greenhouse gases widely used in refrigeration and air-conditioning.

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The history matters because the world is now confronting a problem that the architects of the original ozone agreement could not have anticipated in its present form. Cooling has become essential to modern life, but the rapid expansion of cooling systems can bring its own environmental costs through electricity consumption and refrigerant emissions. The challenge is therefore no longer simply to provide more cooling, but to make cooling more efficient, affordable and compatible with the climate goals that governments are trying to achieve.

The United Nations has used the 2026 World Ozone Day theme to highlight precisely this transition. The Kigali Amendment represents an important new chapter in the history of the Montreal Protocol, linking protection of the ozone layer with the need to reduce the climate impact of cooling. The UN has noted that full implementation of Kigali could avoid up to around 0.5°C of global warming by the end of the century, while combining the refrigerant transition with energy efficiency can deliver substantially greater climate benefits.

For Assam, however, these global figures acquire meaning only when translated into the state’s own development trajectory. According to the Assam Cooling Action Plan, cooling-related electricity demand in the state is projected to more than double by 2040, rising from 3,576 GWh to 8,445 GWh. WRI India describes Assam’s plan as one of the first state-level cooling action plans in India, translating the objectives of the national India Cooling Action Plan into a framework designed specifically around the state’s emerging requirements.

The significance of that projection extends far beyond air-conditioners in private homes. Cooling demand is connected with the way buildings are designed, the expansion of cold chains, industrial production, transport, electricity infrastructure and the availability of affordable thermal comfort. If Assam simply meets the projected increase in demand by installing more energy-intensive equipment, the state could find itself locked into a cycle in which higher temperatures create greater cooling demand, greater cooling demand increases energy use, and higher emissions contribute to further warming.

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The Assam Cooling Action Plan attempts to address that cycle before it becomes more deeply embedded in the state’s infrastructure. It covers four priority sectors, buildings, cold chain, industry and transport, and focuses on energy efficiency, responsible refrigerant management, climate-friendly cooling technologies and coordinated implementation across relevant departments. Its broader objective is to meet Assam’s rising cooling needs while reducing energy consumption, greenhouse-gas emissions and costs and ensuring that access to cooling remains affordable.

The buildings sector will be particularly important because today’s construction decisions can determine energy demand for decades. A building that absorbs large amounts of heat because of its orientation, materials, glazing, roof design or lack of shading may require mechanical cooling for much of the day. Better design, ventilation, insulation, shading and climate-responsive architecture can reduce the need for mechanical cooling before electricity is consumed, making building design one of the most important forms of long-term cooling policy.

Cold chains present another challenge. Assam’s agricultural economy and food systems require reliable storage and transportation for perishable products, while pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive goods also depend upon controlled environments. Expanding cold-chain infrastructure can support food security and economic development, but refrigeration consumes energy and depends upon refrigerants, which means that expansion must be accompanied by efficiency improvements and responsible refrigerant management.

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Industrial cooling raises similar questions. Many industrial processes require refrigeration or temperature control, and inefficient equipment can increase electricity consumption while refrigerant leakage can add to greenhouse-gas emissions. WRI India and ACCMS have therefore considered industrial energy efficiency, cleaner refrigerants, renewable energy and operational improvements as part of the broader cooling strategy.

Transport is also becoming part of the cooling equation. Modern supply chains increasingly depend upon temperature-controlled movement of food, medicines and other goods, while urbanisation and changing patterns of consumption are creating new requirements for refrigerated logistics. Including transport in the state plan recognises that cooling is no longer confined to a building or a household. It is becoming part of the infrastructure of the wider economy.

This makes the Assam Cooling Action Plan more than an energy-efficiency document. It sits at the intersection of climate mitigation and adaptation, because efficient equipment and better refrigerants can reduce emissions while access to cooling can protect people from heat. It is also connected to public health, food security, productivity and economic resilience. Most importantly, it raises a question of equity because those who are most exposed to heat are often the least able to afford expensive mechanical cooling.

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The idea of “Cooling for All” therefore needs to be understood carefully. For a high-income household, it may mean purchasing an efficient air-conditioner. For a low-income household, thermal protection may depend more upon reliable electricity, fans, building design, ventilation, shading or access to cooler public spaces. For a farmer, it may mean an efficient cold chain that reduces post-harvest losses, while for a worker it may mean protection from dangerous heat exposure.

The policy challenge is to ensure that the benefits of cooling do not become concentrated among those who can afford the most technology. Sustainable cooling has to consider how people actually experience heat, how much they can pay, where they live and work, and what kinds of buildings and infrastructure surround them. In that sense, the cooling question is also a climate-justice question.

It was against this wider background that the address of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah acquired particular relevance. Speaking at the programme, the Minister emphasised the need to prepare Assam for growing cooling requirements while ensuring that development remains aligned with environmental protection. He stressed the importance of energy efficiency and responsible environmental practices, but also repeatedly returned to a wider theme: climate action cannot remain the responsibility of government departments alone and must become a matter of public ownership.

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The Minister also drew attention to the importance of increasing green cover and protecting natural ecosystems as part of Assam’s response to rising temperatures. Referring to the state’s Amrit Brikshya Andolan and Brikshya Bandhu initiatives, he highlighted the participation of students, self-help groups, the Forest Protection Force, civil society organisations and other stakeholders in plantation and tree-care activities. His emphasis was not merely on planting trees, but on creating a sense of ownership that encourages people to protect and nurture them over the long term.

That distinction is important in climate policy. A tree planted during a campaign has little meaning if it does not survive, just as a climate policy has limited value if it remains confined to a launch ceremony. The Minister’s appeal for citizens, particularly young people, to become more actively involved in environmental protection reflected an understanding that long-term sustainability depends upon participation beyond government programmes.

He also encouraged people to approach the Government and the Assam Climate Change Management Society for guidance and participation and urged citizens to take climate change and environmental protection seriously, not simply as a matter of publicity but as a genuine responsibility. That emphasis gives the Cooling Action Plan a social dimension that cannot be captured by its technical projections alone. Energy-efficient technology can reduce emissions, but lasting climate action requires people to understand why those changes matter and to participate in them.

The message is especially relevant for the younger generation. The people who are students today will live longest with the consequences of the infrastructure, energy systems and land-use decisions being made now. They will inherit the buildings constructed in the present decade, the transport networks that are being planned, the industrial systems being installed and the forests that survive or disappear.

Youth participation therefore cannot be limited to awareness campaigns. Young people need opportunities to participate in climate education, research, innovation, community action and environmental stewardship. The Minister’s emphasis on involving students and young people in plantation and climate initiatives places that responsibility within a broader effort to make environmental protection part of everyday citizenship.

The administrative dimension of the initiative was represented by Mahendra Kumar Yadava, Special Chief Secretary of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department. The implementation of a state cooling plan will necessarily involve institutions beyond the environment department because cooling touches buildings, industries, transport, energy, agriculture, food distribution and public health. The success of ACAP will therefore depend partly on whether its recommendations can be translated into coordinated action across these different areas of government.

Dr. Satyendra Singh, IFS, CEO of ACCMS, represents another important part of that institutional chain. The Assam Climate Change Management Society has a role in connecting climate science, government policy, technical knowledge and stakeholder participation. The development of ACAP demonstrates why such an institutional bridge is necessary when a climate issue cuts across conventional departmental boundaries.

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The technical partnership with WRI India has provided another layer to that process. The plan has been developed with inputs from government, private-sector and civil-society stakeholders, while consultations have examined the specific challenges facing buildings, cold chains and industry. WRI’s work has focused on identifying practical interventions involving energy efficiency, cleaner refrigerants, renewable energy and improved operational practices.

During the World Ozone Day programme, Dr. Rizwan Uz Zaman, Technical Consultant, ACCMS, and Deepak Tiwari of WRI India presented the Assam Cooling Action Plan and its proposed sectoral interventions. Their presentation provided the technical context for the policy being launched, while the wider programme brought together officials, industry members, academics, students and environmental stakeholders.

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The event was attended by Mahendra Kumar Yadava, Special Chief Secretary, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department; Sandeep Kumar, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, Assam; Dr. Om Prakash, IAS, Commissioner and Secretary, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department; Dr. Vinay Gupta, IFS, PCCF Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam; Dr. Satyendra Singh, IFS, CEO, ACCMS; and Bharath Jairaj, Executive Program Director, Energy, WRI India, among other participants.

The presence of such a broad group was significant because sustainable cooling cannot be implemented by one institution. It requires the interaction of government, industry, academia, civil society and citizens. The stakeholder consultation process behind the plan is therefore an important part of the story, particularly because Assam’s cooling challenge will evolve as temperatures rise, urbanisation accelerates and the state’s economy changes.

The Northeast also requires a regional perspective. Assam’s experience cannot be completely separated from the wider climate and infrastructure conditions of the region, where rising temperatures, high humidity and increasing cooling requirements are creating similar pressures. The stakeholder discussions around sustainable cooling pathways for Assam and the Northeastern states have consequently opened a broader conversation about how the region can meet its future cooling needs without reproducing the energy and emissions patterns of more carbon-intensive development.

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There is another reason why Assam’s approach deserves attention. The state has historically been associated with forests, rivers, wetlands and a humid subtropical environment in which passive forms of cooling and ecological systems have played an important role in human settlement. Modernisation is changing that relationship. Buildings are becoming more energy intensive, urban areas are expanding and mechanical cooling is becoming more accessible.

The answer is not to romanticise the past or reject modern cooling technologies. Millions of people will need mechanical cooling as temperatures rise, and denying that reality would be neither practical nor equitable. The more important task is to combine modern technology with better building design, natural shading, urban greenery, efficient appliances, responsible refrigerants and appropriate planning.

That is where the Minister’s emphasis on green cover becomes relevant to the larger cooling discussion. Trees cannot substitute for efficient cooling systems, nor can plantation alone solve climate change. But forests, urban vegetation and healthy ecosystems can contribute to more resilient landscapes, influence local thermal conditions, support biodiversity and provide a range of ecological benefits that become increasingly valuable as temperatures rise.

The future of cooling and the future of Assam’s natural environment therefore need not be treated as separate subjects. A climate-resilient state will require both technological solutions and functioning ecosystems. It will need efficient buildings alongside green spaces, responsible refrigerant management alongside forest protection, and modern infrastructure alongside an understanding of the climatic conditions in which that infrastructure operates.

This is also where the history of the Montreal Protocol becomes instructive. Its success was not based on a single technological intervention. It depended upon scientific evidence, international cooperation, changes in industrial practices, financial mechanisms and sustained implementation. The Kigali Amendment carries that experience into a new environmental challenge, asking countries to transform the way cooling is produced and consumed while continuing to meet legitimate human needs.

Assam’s Cooling Action Plan represents a local expression of that global transition. Its projected increase in cooling-related electricity demand from 3,576 GWh to 8,445 GWh by 2040 is a reminder that the state has a limited window in which to influence the trajectory of future cooling. The choices made now about buildings, equipment, refrigerants, cold chains and infrastructure will shape the amount of energy Assam ultimately requires to remain comfortable and productive in a warmer climate.

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The question, therefore, is not whether Assam will become more dependent on cooling. The available evidence suggests that demand will rise. The more consequential question is whether that demand can be met more efficiently and equitably, without creating unnecessary additional pressure on the climate and on the state’s energy system.

That is the real test of ACAP.

It will not be measured by the launch ceremony at Guwahati, Assam, nor by the existence of a policy document. Its progress will eventually be visible in the way buildings are designed, how cooling equipment is selected and maintained, how refrigerants are managed, how cold chains expand, how industries use energy, how transport systems operate and how vulnerable communities gain access to thermal comfort.

It will also be visible in less technical ways. It will be reflected in whether a tree planted through a public campaign survives, whether a student becomes an active participant rather than a passive recipient of environmental messages, whether citizens seek guidance and participate in climate initiatives, and whether climate responsibility becomes part of institutional and public culture.

We had the privilege of attending the World Ozone Day programme as an invited guest representing Mahabahu.com and Mahabahu Climate Forum. For us, the significance of the occasion lay not only in the launch of the Assam Cooling Action Plan but in the way the event connected an international environmental achievement with the realities facing Assam today. The discussion moved naturally from the ozone layer and Kigali to electricity demand, heat, buildings, forests, young people and the responsibility of citizens.

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That connection is important for Assam because climate change is no longer an abstract subject. It is increasingly experienced through heat, humidity, changing weather patterns, pressure on ecosystems, risks to agriculture, public-health concerns and the growing need for cooling. The challenge for policymakers is to anticipate these changes rather than simply respond to them after they become crises.

For Mahabahu and Mahabahu Climate Forum, this is also a natural extension of a larger public conversation around the Brahmaputra, climate justice, forests, biodiversity and the future of the Eastern Himalayas. The cooling question may appear technically different from these subjects, but it ultimately concerns the same thing: how society adapts to a changing climate without undermining the ecological systems on which its future depends.

World Ozone Day 2026 therefore offered Assam more than an annual environmental observance. It provided an opportunity to connect the history of global environmental cooperation with the practical challenges of a state preparing for greater heat and greater demand for cooling. The Montreal Protocol demonstrated that environmental problems once thought to be planetary and distant can be addressed when science, institutions, technology and public action move together.

Kigali extended that lesson into the climate era. Assam’s Cooling Action Plan now brings it into a regional context where the need for cooling is growing, but where the environmental cost of that cooling must also be considered.

The challenge ahead is substantial. Yet it is also an opportunity to build a different kind of development model, one in which comfort does not automatically mean higher emissions, economic growth does not have to mean greater environmental damage, and climate adaptation does not come at the expense of climate mitigation.

A cooler Assam, in other words, cannot simply mean more machines producing cold air. It has to mean better buildings, smarter technologies, responsible refrigerants, stronger ecosystems, more informed citizens and institutions capable of working together.

And perhaps most importantly, it has to mean a public that understands that climate action is not something done for publicity or reserved for governments and experts. It is a long-term responsibility shared by the people who live in Assam today and the generations that will inherit it tomorrow.

Mahabahu.com is an Online Magazine with collection of premium Assamese and English articles and posts with cultural base and modern thinking.  You can send your articles to editor@mahabahu.com / editor@mahabahoo.com (For Assamese article, Unicode font is necessary) Images from different sources.