Final thoughts

The climate crisis is prone to throwing us into catch-22 situations, and the cooling paradox is a perfect example of this phenomenon. As global temperatures rise and heatwaves become more frequent and intense, the natural human response is to seek relief – often through the installation of air conditioning systems.

For individuals, especially those in vulnerable groups or living in poorly insulated buildings, this is an entirely understandable and often necessary decision. No one should be expected to endure dangerous heat without access to cooling. However, when this response is replicated across millions of households and businesses, the cumulative impact can be severe.

The forecast increase in active cooling technologies like air conditioners is set to place enormous strain on energy infrastructure, particularly during peak demand periods. This strain is not just theoretical, and we need not reach for abstract emissions figures to illustrate the impact. In July 2025, the Italian cities of Florence and Bergamo experienced significant blackouts during a heatwave. These outages were caused, in part, by the surge in electricity demand from air conditioning units. Such events highlight the fragility of our energy systems in the face of climate stress and underscore the urgent need for alternative, energy-free cooling solutions.

Radiative cooling materials offer one such solution. Although challenges remain, and much of the work remains at an early stage of development, there are promising lines of inquiry across many applications, as is exemplified by the innovations highlighted in this report.

Together with better building design, optimised urban planning, and other passive solutions like urban greening, radiative cooling can help us adapt to a warming world without deepening the problem. The cooling paradox may be a catch-22, but it’s not an unsolvable one.

Key literature review articles cited in this piece:

Jun Liang, Jiawei Wu, Jun Guo, Huagen Li, Xianjun Zhou, Sheng Liang, Cheng-Wei Qiu, Guangming Tao, Radiative cooling for passive thermal management towards sustainable carbon neutrality, National Science Review, Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2023, nwac208, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwac208
S. So, J. Yun, B. Ko, D. Lee, M. Kim, J. Noh, C. Park, J. Park, J. Rho, Radiative Cooling for Energy Sustainability: From Fundamentals to Fabrication Methods Toward Commercialization. Adv. Sci. 2024, 11, 2305067. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202305067
Lyu Zhou, Jacob Rada, Yanpei Tian, Yu Han, Zhiping Lai, Matthew F. McCabe, Qiaoqiang Gan, Radiative cooling for energy sustainability: Materials, systems, and applications, Physical Review Materials, 2022, 6, 090201. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.6.090201

Startups featured in this piece:

About this deep dive

The purpose of this briefing note is to provide an introductory overview of the emerging field of radiative cooling, with the Springwise editorial team highlighting the key themes that emerged through their research. Information was sourced from a selection of academic articles, with a particular focus on literature reviews, as well as general desk research. Further insight came from in-person interviews and written responses from three experts. Interested readers are directed to the articles and organisations listed below for a more comprehensive understanding of the field. The Springwise editorial team has attempted in good faith to validate the information contained in this briefing note, but cannot make guarantees as to its accuracy or completeness.