Convert dark roofs and pavement to reflective, high-albedo surfaces
#00007
Replace dark, heat-absorbing roofs and pavement with high-albedo reflective surfaces — cool roofs, light-colored or coated pavement — to reflect sunlight rather than retain it. Acts fast and scales through building codes and repaving cycles.
Million Cool Roofs Challenge (10 grantee teams across 10 countries); winner Cool Roofs Indonesia led by Beta Paramita, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia · since 2019 · Global
The Million Cool Roofs Challenge (2019–2022) awarded 125,000 USD grants to 10 teams across 10 countries to scale reflective roof coatings, funded by the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (Clean Cooling Collaborative) wi…
$2M · Philanthropic: Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (Clean Cooling Collaborative), 2,000,000 USD total disbursed as 125,000 USD grants to 10 teams
Ahmedabad, India
SuccessMahila Housing Trust, delivering through women's Community Action Groups; residents paint their own roofs · City
Since roughly the mid-2010s, the Mahila Housing Trust has run a women-led cool roofs program in which residents of informal settlements paint their own roofs with solar-reflective paint. Delivery runs through women's Co…
Mahila Housing Trust programs with household participation; per-roof cost of a few thousand rupees
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
PartialCity of Phoenix Street Transportation Dept & Office of Sustainability, with Arizona State University · since 2020 · City
Phoenix coated 36 miles of residential roadway and a parking lot with a light-gray reflective "CoolSeal" treatment and conducted a multi-year evaluation with Arizona State University — the largest cool-pavement deployme…
City of Phoenix · 3 sources
Los Angeles, California, USA
OngoingCity of Los Angeles · City
Los Angeles, where average temperatures run nearly six degrees hotter than surrounding areas, adopted cool-surface measures alongside a measurable temperature target. Its Sustainable City pLAn set a goal to reduce the l…
1 source
Newark, New Jersey, USA
OngoingNew Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) · since 2025 · Region
After Newark recorded 103°F in June 2025 — breaking its previous June high by six degrees — New Jersey launched a $5 million Urban Heat Island Mitigation Program through the Board of Public Utilities, funded by the stat…
New Jersey Clean Energy Fund · 2 sources