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UN issues new guidance to address warming in cities

– Prepared with RMI, the comprehensive guide prescribes proven strategies to achieve sustainable urban cooling, with scores of case studies
– Overheated cities face disproportionate climate costs due to ‘heat island effect’; average city could warm as much as 4°C by 2100
GLASGOW, Scotland and NEW DELHI, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today published detailed guidance to help the world’s cities address warming, which is occurring at twice the global average rate in urban areas.
Beating the Heat: A Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities, prepared with RMI, states that by the end of this century, many cities could warm as much as 4 °C if GHG emissions continue at high levels. Even at 1.5°C of warming, 2.3 billion people could be vulnerable to severe heat waves.  
Launched at the ongoing UN Climate Conference (COP26) by the Cool Coalition, UNEP, RMI, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), Mission Innovation and the Clean Cooling Collaborative, the new guide offers planners an encyclopaedia of proven options to help cool cities.
“Science tells us that to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5°C, we need to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century. Sustainable and equitable urban cooling must be a part of cities’ efforts to reach net-zero energy targets,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director.
In outlining the problem, the Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities describes how cities are warming quickly due to the ‘heat island effect’, caused by a combination of diminished green cover, the thermal properties of the materials commonly used in urban surfaces, and waste heat from human activities. 
The Handbook notes that:
Demand for space cooling is increasing. The energy requirement for space cooling is predicted to triple from 2016 to 2050 as millions of households in developing countries acquire air conditioners in the coming decades. Impacts of urban heat are not evenly distributed. Cooler cities, homes and streets are key to ensure climate justice. Lower-income districts and communities are usually the most vulnerable to heat, placing the negative impacts of excess warming disproportionately on those least likely to be able to afford or access thermal comfort. We need to transition to more equitable and sustainable ways of cooling our cities and make them liveable for all. The benefits of sustainable urban cooling are far reaching, including improved health and productivity, reduced power energy requirements, lower emissions, and economic benefits. Cooling strategies can be optimized to work together efficiently. The report calls for a whole-system approach – that is, reduce heat at urban scale, reduce cooling needs in buildings and serve cooling needs in buildings efficiently – to benefit from integrative effects. City officials working to make their cities cooler and more liveable are faced with a wide range of approaches – the challenge is where to start. 
“This new handbook provides a comprehensive overview of ways to cool cities sustainably and equitably,” said RMI CEO Jules Kortenhorst. “Based on systems-level thinking, this handbook includes actionable guidance to help cities make progress towards sustainable and equitable urban cooling, while also cutting emissions and increasing city resilience.”
The guide’s 80 supporting case studies and examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategies outlined and can help cities find an approach best suited to their unique contexts.
In collaboration with the Cool Coalition, the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance, an initiative of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) at the Atlantic Council, announced plans to disseminate the new Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities to their partner cities and counties– including Athens, Greece, Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Miami-Dade County, United States. The newly announced Athens, Freetown and Miami-Dade Chief Heat Officers will be the first to benefit from this comprehensive guide.   
To meet the energy- and building-related emissions target of their Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Climate Agreement, Vietnam will also pilot the handbook in three cities, Can Tho, Tam Ky and Dong Hoi City.
Similarly, 10 Indian cities will collaborate with UNEP, India’s National institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), RMI and the Royal Danish Embassy of India to integrate cooling into their city masterplans.
Example case studies
United States: Heat reduction services from urban tree cover in the United States are estimated to be worth USD 5.3 billion to USD 12.1 billion annually. Globally, investing USD 100 million annually in street trees would give 77 million people a 1°C reduction in maximum temperatures on hot days. Seoul, South Korea: An effort to restore the Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through the city replaced 5.8 kilometres of elevated expressway covering the stream with a mixed-use waterfront corridor. The waterfront corridor decreased temperature 3.3°C to 5.9°C compared to a parallel road a few blocks away. Medellín, Colombia: Green corridors were created that follow and restore the geography of the area prior to recent development. From 2016 to 2019, the city created 36 corridors, 18 along major roads and 18 along waterways, covering over 36 hectares. The areas with green corridors have already seen temperature reductions of up to 4°C. Paris, France: Paris is home of the first and largest district cooling system in Europe. When the water temperature in the Seine River that cuts through city is below 8°C, this water is used to provide “free cooling.” Toronto, Canada: The municipal government implemented the largest lake-source cooling system in the world. Commissioned in 2004, Enwave’s 264 MW of refrigeration Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system uses Lake Ontario’s cold water as a renewable energy source. Guangzhou, China: The municipal government adopted regional centralized cooling as part of a green and environmentally friendly modern urban centre in the core area of the Pearl River New City development. The local environmental temperature in the core area of Zhujiang New Town was reduced by 2-3°C compared to using distributed cooling systems.Additional Quotes
“The Global Covenant of Mayors is the world’s largest alliance of cities taking action on climate, representing over 11,000 cities and one billion people. No matter how large or small a city, introducing sustainable urban cooling will both cut emissions and build resilience. We look forward to taking this handbook and sharing it across our worldwide network of cities so they can take immediate steps to make urban spaces cooler,” said Andy Deacon, Acting Managing Director, Global Covenant of Mayors.
“Cities are at the forefront of the climate crisis, so it’s vital that local governments urgently adopt sustainable urban cooling solutions to protect their communities from rapidly rising temperatures while also limiting further global warming,” said Noah Horowitz, Director of the Clean Cooling Collaborative. “This guide is an invaluable tool for cities wanting to take meaningful action for both people and the planet.”
“I am delighted to see how Mission Innovation has brought together the community to develop the Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities. This is a great example of what we mean by catalyzing clean energy solutions for all. We look forward to playing a role in its deployment in the next phase,” Lee McDonough, Director General, Net Zero Strategy and International, UK Representative on MI Steering Committee.
About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
For further information please contact:Keisha Rukikaire, Head of News & Media, UNEP Terry Collins, +1-416-878-8712
About RMI
RMI is an independent non-profit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.
More information on RMI can be found at rmi.org or follow us on Twitter @RockyMtnInst.
Nick Steel, Director of Public Relations, +1-347-574-0887Vindhya, 9810537978, Email address: vtripathi@rmi.org
About the Clean Cooling Collaborative
Clean Cooling Collaborative is making climate-friendly cooling accessible to all. A philanthropic initiative of ClimateWorks Foundation launched in 2017 as the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP), the Clean Cooling Collaborative focuses on super-efficient refrigeration and space cooling equipment, climate-friendly refrigerants, passive cooling, and integrated solutions that cool people and the planet.
Christina Hayes, Communications Officer, +44-7881-813-825
About the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy
GCoM is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership, uniting a global coalition of over 10,000 cities and local governments and 100+ supporting partners. The cities and partners of GCoM share a long-term vision of supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and towards a resilient and low-emission society. GCoM serves cities and local governments by mobilizing and supporting ambitious, measurable, planned climate and energy action in their communities by working with city/regional networks, national governments, and other partners to achieve our vision. Led today by Michael R. Bloomberg and European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans, the coalition comprises cities across 6 continents and 139 countries, representing over 900 million people or more than 10% of the global population.
About Mission Innovation
Mission Innovation is a global initiative to catalyze action and investment in research, development and demonstration to make clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible to all this decade. This will accelerate progress towards the Paris Agreement goals and pathways to net zero.

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Firstsource Partners with Typeface to Launch Agentic Marketing Services

New full-stack offering turns content operations into an agentic growth engineNEW YORK and MUMBAI, India, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Firstsource Solutions Limited (NSE: FSL) (BSE: 532809), an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company, today announced the launch of a new offering — Agentic Marketing Services — in partnership with Typeface, the marketing orchestration engine for the world’s leading enterprises. The offering is designed to help enterprises move from marketing ambition to scale by transforming, implementing, and operating AI-native marketing systems. It transforms marketing operations into a scalable growth engine and delivers measurable top-line revenue growth beyond operational efficiency alone.
  Agentic AI is redefining how enterprises think about the customer lifecycle, and marketing content sits at the center of that transformation. Enterprises deploying AI-driven personalization are seeing up to 40% higher revenue compared to their peers. Content operations is both a growth lever and an efficiency play for CMOs: roughly 30% of CMO budgets go to content; approximately 55% of content work is manual — resizing, localization, brand compliance — while 90% of those manual workflows can be AI-enabled.”At Firstsource, our approach has been about moving beyond traditional boundaries to build adaptive, intelligence-led ecosystems that deliver measurable outcomes. Content operations is now the most disrupted layer of the modern marketing stack, with Large Language Models reshaping the entire value chain — from ideation and production to governance and distribution — making it both the biggest near-term efficiency opportunity and the most exposed surface area in enterprise marketing,” said Ritesh Idnani, MD and Chief Executive Officer of Firstsource.”CEOs and CMOs are not looking for a consultancy that hands off a roadmap or an agency that operates in silos — they want a partner who can transform, implement, and operate marketing systems end-to-end. By combining micro-segmentation, personalization, and deep industry context, we help clients build acquisition, engagement, and retention engines that are intelligent, compliant, and scalable. Typeface brings the AI technology to generate personalized, on-brand, compliant content at scale, and Firstsource brings deep experience in customer operations, especially in regulated industries like banking, financial services, healthcare, and retail. Together, we enable enterprises to plan, build, and run modern marketing — turning content operations into a compounding growth engine and delivering outcomes, not just effort.”The partnership extends the capabilities announced with Typeface’s recent Marketing Orchestration Engine launch — bringing governed AI systems into full-stack marketing operations for regulated enterprises.”AI only transforms marketing when it’s embedded into the workflows that drive real customer outcomes,” said Abhay Parasnis, Founder & CEO of Typeface. “Firstsource brings deep industry expertise and operational rigor in highly regulated environments. Together, we’re helping enterprises turn AI ambition into operational reality, embedding governed intelligence into the systems that power durable growth.” While Typeface provides the orchestration layer that unifies brand intelligence, AI agents, and enterprise systems, Firstsource brings the operational expertise and insights to enable effective decision making and implement and run these systems in complex, regulated environments. Together, they redesign how growth is driven — focusing on the moments, segments, and mechanisms that truly move the needle — enabling enterprises to shift from fragmented activity to scalable, revenue-led execution.Industry view”In retail, seasonality and micro-segmentation are where revenue is won or lost. Every peak moment demands thousands of personalized variants across marketing, service, and customer operations — and the retailers who get this right see real movement on acquisition, conversion, and retention, not just efficiency. What makes the Firstsource–Typeface offering different is that it is not another tool — it is an operating capability. Pairing agentic AI with embedded marketing operations is exactly what retailers need to move from broad campaigns to true lifecycle-driven engagement. For the industry, this is a meaningful step-change in how growth gets engineered.” – Dave Kimbell, Ex-CEO Ulta Beauty; Firstsource Advisory Board Member”Healthcare payers sit on a real paradox: a huge share of member communication is locked inside PHI and claims workflows where the rules are clear and rightly strict — but the biggest lever on affordability lives outside that envelope, in how payers engage members on wellness, prevention, plan literacy, and proactive disease management. That is a white-space opportunity the industry has barely touched. This is where marketing AI services can genuinely move the needle. With micro-segmentation and agentic content, payers can reach the right member with the right nudge at the right moment — entirely within compliant, non-PHI pathways — and shift the engagement model from acquisition and retention to lifelong wellness. That is how you make healthcare more affordable, improve member experience, and strengthen the economics of the plan at the same time. The Firstsource–Typeface offering is one of the few capabilities purpose-built to operate at that intersection of compliance, personalization, and outcomes.”- Paul Sanford, Ex-EVP Operations, Cigna Group; Firstsource Advisory Board MemberAbout FirstsourceFirstsource Solutions Limited, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company (NSE: FSL) (BSE: 532809), is a global intelligence partner to enterprises across healthcare, banking and financial services, communications, media, technology, retail, and utilities. Its inch-wide, mile-deep practitioners work collaboratively to reimagine business process management.With operations across the US, UK, India, Philippines, Mexico, Romania, Trinidad & Tobago, South Africa, and Australia, Firstsource combines over twenty-five years of domain expertise with an agent-first delivery model to design, build, and operate intelligent enterprise operations. Through its Intelligence That Operates promise—powered by Kairos, the operating system that makes it real—the company unifies consulting, implementation, and operations into a single full-stack engagement and underwrites outcomes, not effort, turning deep domain intelligence into a compounding operational advantage for firms in the world’s most regulated industries. (www.firstsource.com)About TypefaceTypeface is a marketing orchestration engine for the world’s leading enterprises, coordinating brand intelligence, AI agents, and enterprise systems across cross-channel marketing operations. Built for large organizations, Typeface combines shared brand intelligence, governed agent workflows, and deep enterprise integration at scale — connecting seamlessly with platforms like Salesforce, Microsoft, and Google — to help teams scale what works without sacrificing quality or control. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, Typeface enables organizations to operationalize AI inside real marketing workflows, turning brand standards, approvals, and performance signals into coordinated systems that improve over time. Typeface is backed by Lightspeed, GV, Salesforce Ventures, Madrona, Menlo, and M12, and has been recognized by Fast Company, Gartner, TIME, LinkedIn, and Adweek as a leader in AI for marketing. Learn more at www.typeface.ai.Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2515360/Firstsource_Logo.jpg

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Shaping Future-Ready School Leaders: Woxsen University Leads Design Thinking Initiative for Principals

HYDERABAD, India, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The School of Arts and Design at Woxsen University, in collaboration with the Public-School Principals’ Association (PSPA), conducted a Principal Leadership Programme on April 27, bringing together 30 principals from leading schools across Hyderabad for an immersive, design-led learning experience focused on rethinking leadership in contemporary education.

Participating institutions included Delhi Public School, Sloka International School (Tukkuguda), Jain Heritage Cambridge School, AVN Vida International School, CMR School (Medchal), and Gitanjali High School, among others. Designed as a hands-on, studio-based workshop, the programme moved beyond traditional formats, enabling participants to engage in collaborative problem-solving, systems thinking, and real-world leadership challenges.The programme was delivered by Woxsen’s Centre for Learning Design (CLD) and the David Dunne Design Thinking Lab, and was guided by the university’s ERS (Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability) framework, reflecting an integrated and purpose-driven approach to leadership development.Through guided design thinking exercises, principals explored new approaches to decision-making, innovation in school ecosystems, and building student-centric learning environments. The interactive format encouraged peer exchange and practical application, making the experience directly relevant to institutional leadership.Rajendra Prasad, President of the PSPA, said, “The School Principals’ Leadership Workshop at Woxsen University was well organized and delivered with great impact. The sessions were highly engaging and insightful, and the programme received overwhelming positive feedback from participants for both its content and overall experience.”Dr. Ashok Pandey, Member of the PSPA Leadership Team, shared, “An inspiring day at the picturesque Woxsen University campus, engaging with exceptional school leaders committed to designing the schools of tomorrow.” Dr. Adity Saxena, Dean, School of Arts & Design, said, “This programme is aligned with Woxsen’s core pillar of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability, reinforcing our commitment to purpose-driven education. We see our role as bridging ideas, institutions, and impact in education, and we are grateful to PSPA and Rajendra Prasad for this meaningful collaboration.”The initiative reflects Woxsen University’s commitment to strengthening the school education ecosystem in Telangana by building leadership capacity and fostering future-ready thinking among educators. Following the workshop, the PSPA leadership team engaged in a strategic discussion with Dr. Adity Saxena to explore future collaboration opportunities.Building on the momentum of the programme, Woxsen University and PSPA are exploring the launch of a structured Principal Leadership Certificate Programme. The proposed initiative aims to institutionalize leadership development for school heads and further strengthen the region’s education ecosystem through sustained, practice-oriented engagement.About Woxsen University, HyderabadWoxsen University, located in Hyderabad, is one of the first private universities in the state of Telangana, India. Renowned for its 200-acre state-of-the-art campus and infrastructure, Woxsen University offers new-age, disruptive programs in the fields of Business, Technology, Arts & Design, Architecture, Law, and Liberal Arts & Humanities. Woxsen also houses Asia’s largest Sports Infrastructure, spread over 60 acres. With 175 Global Partner Universities and a strong industry connect, Woxsen is recognized as one of the top universities for Academic Excellence and Global Edge. Woxsen has also secured the QS Business Masters World Ranking 2025, Rank #9 All India, Top 100 B-Schools by Times B-School Ranking 2025, Rank #6, Asia Pacific, Bloomberg Best B-School, and features in India’s Best B-Schools beyond IIMs by Dalal Street Investment Journal 2025, in 4th consecutive year. Woxsen is ranked as one of the Top Professional Colleges in India by Outlook I-CARE for its undergraduate programs, securing All India Rank 12 among the Top 130 BBA Private Institutes, All India Rank 20 among the Top 160 B.Tech Private Institutes, All India Rank 3 among the Top 25 Design Private Institutes, and All India Rank 3 among the Top 30 B. Arch Private Institutes.Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2969917/Woxsen_PSPA_1.jpgPhoto: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2969918/Woxsen_PSPA_2.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1771070/5365059/Woxsen_University_Logo.jpg 

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Ryan Group of Schools Hosts First In Math® — 24® Game National Tournament in Mumbai

MUMBAI, India, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ryan Group of Schools successfully hosted the first of three National First In Math® — 24® Game Tournaments in Mumbai on Friday, April 24, bringing together some of the brightest young mathematical minds from across Western and Central India.

A total of 124 top-performing students from the West Zone were selected to compete in the live tournament, representing Ryan schools from across the region. Their participation reflects the remarkable scale of Ryan Group’s commitment to numeracy and skill-based learning. Today, 92 Ryan schools across India actively participate in the First In Math® program, with students having collectively solved nearly 3.5 crore maths problems through year-round practice.The live tournaments are a high-energy numeracy initiative centered around the iconic 24® Game series, created in 1988 by engineer-inventor Robert Sun, who also developed the First In Math® program. Designed to make mathematics engaging, fast-paced, and rewarding, the competition sharpens students’ logical reasoning, focus, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.Students arrived with great enthusiasm and pride, ceremoniously collecting their MVP badges along with personalised score cards bearing their seating assignments. The event began on an inspiring note with a message and prayer, followed by spirited cheerleading performances that energized participants and audiences alike.The tournament format tested both speed and accuracy. In the first round, four students were seated at each table, where proctors issued challenge cards one at a time. Each card required students to use all four numbers shown, without repetition, to create a three-step solution equaling 24. The first student to solve the challenge within 15 seconds earned the card’s score value by stating the solution clearly and accurately.After an exciting opening round, students progressed to the semifinals, which featured two thrilling tiebreaker moments, before the final round saw the top four players in each grade group compete for top honours.Final Round Winners were:Champions of Champions (Tablet Winner): Mst. Gaurang Roy, Grade 7, Ryan International School, ICSE, Malad.Grade Group Level Champions: Mst. Nehaan Sethia, Grade 4, Ryan International School, Sanpada and Mst. Varad Gunjal, Grade 6, Ryan International School, SanpadaUnder the visionary leadership of Dr. Grace Pinto, Managing Director, Ryan Group of Institutions, Ryan schools across India adopted the First In Math® program with a clear goal: to ensure that every Ryanite experiences both the joy and the power of mathematics. The initiative continues to build lifelong skills in students, including logical reasoning, critical thinking, concentration, and strong analytical ability.Dr. Snehal Pinto, Director, Ryan Group of Schools, said: “At Ryan Group of Schools, we believe mathematics is not just a subject, but a powerful way to develop confidence, logical thinking, and problem-solving skills for life. The First In Math® — 24® Game Tournament beautifully brings together learning and excitement, inspiring students to enjoy the challenge of numbers in a dynamic and meaningful way. As Ryan Group proudly celebrates 50 years of nurturing young minds, initiatives like these reflect our continued commitment to innovation in education and to empowering every Ryanite to excel with skill, spirit, and determination.”Following the successful Mumbai tournament, the National First In Math® — 24® Game Tournaments will next travel to Delhi and Bangalore, continuing Ryan Group’s nationwide celebration of numeracy excellence and student achievement.About Ryan Group of Schools: Ryan Group of Schools is a premier educational institution in India with a widespread network of 150+ schools across 20+ states and 40+ cities, reaching learners across the country and abroad. Founded on the vision of fostering holistic development and academic excellence, the group is dedicated to nurturing lifelong learners who are equipped to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world.With a rich legacy spanning 50 years, Ryan Group of Schools has established itself as a beacon of educational excellence, combining academic rigor with character-building values.Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2968951/First_in_Math_2026_Ryan_Group_of_Schools.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1687598/5934106/Ryan_Group_Logo.jpg 

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