Abstract: This study presents Solar cooling as a potential option for energy saving and abatement of greenhouse gas emissions in Africa. Solar cooling is the use of solar thermal energy to drive a refrigeration cycle in order to operate a cooling appliance. Owing to growing need for cooling load, more and more buildings are being fitted with conventional cooling systems globally leading to a sharp rise in power consumption. On the other hand, concerns regarding the adverse environmental impact of using fossil fuels has necessitated the exploitation of alternative cooling technologies, especially solar assisted cooling. Apart from the fact that conventional, electrically driven air conditioning systems are less diffused in Africa, most countries in the continent are located near the equator with intense all-year-round solar radiation, which makes them suitable locations for the adoption of solar cooling technologies. Solar thermal energy can be coupled to any of four major conventional cooling techniques, namely absorption cooling, desiccant cooling, vapour compression and evaporative cooling. Among these, evaporative and desiccant cooling technologies appear to have the highest potential for energy savings in domestic space heating as well as Greenhouse Gas (GHG) abatement in Africa. On the other hand, although conventional vapour compression systems have high efficiency, they are not recommended for widespread use since they utilize Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and Chrorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which tend to deplete the ozone layer.