Month: November 2021

How are Indian households cooling themselves?

Posted on by Apurupa Gorthi

The answer is not air conditioners

The recent USD 1 trillion Infrastructure Bill in the United States’ agenda to Build Back Better has allotted about USD 5 billion to a variety of measures that will reduce building electricity use, improve building materials, and create a skilled workforce to design, build and maintain energy efficient buildings. A large fraction of this funding, about USD 3.5 billion, will focus on improving access to thermal comfort for low income households – better insulation, windows, roofing, heating and cooling devices. The bill also directs USD 500 million to public schools for replacement of old inefficient HVAC systems, among other measures. Given that about buildings account for about 75 percent of the country’s electricity demand, this bill is a significant step in the right direction. Such an overhaul is much needed for country where 90 percent of the households in the United States have HVAC systems for their cooling, ventilation and heating needs. 

In contrast, the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) in 2019 reported that about 10 percent of India’s 272 million households own air conditioners with an expected increase of cooling demand by eleven times in residential sector over the next two decades. The corollary to rapid increase in cooling demand, in the absence of suitable interventions is, uptake of least efficient air conditioners. While India’s per capita buildings energy use is among the lowest in the world today, it is set to grow faster than any region in the coming decades. In order to be able to envision a sustainable future for residential cooling, perhaps even massive financial investment on infrastructure, we must first come to terms with how India currently accesses thermal comfort. 

Accessing thermal comfort through stacking strategies 

As a tropical country with over five different climate zones experiencing air conditioner proliferation in the recent decade, much of India’s population comfort range in temperature is dictated by the outside climate. An investigation in a government school located in the city of Ambala 1 found that a temperature range of 15.3-33.7°C fell under occupant comfort; a range that is higher than those prescribed by both Indian and International Standards for adult population. Another study in affordable housing in Mumbai 2 revealed occupant comfort in the temperature range of 19.8-34.8°C, wherein both the minimum and maximum were about 6°C higher than prescribed standards., 3,4

This tolerance to higher temperatures has been attributed to urban residents’ commonly used adaptive actions such as the use of a ceiling fans, opening of windows, and use of curtains. Less commonly used adaptive actions were roof or floor wetting and use of air-conditioners or air-coolers. These are actions that we have witnessed or performed in our own households as means to achieve thermal comfort during sweltering summers. These can also be dubbed as energy conservation behaviours that help achieve optimal thermal comfort.  

Stacking of strategies that reduce dependence on air conditioners in Indian households are common and often include the use of fans in tandem or as a substitute. A study in Pondicherry’s Auroville further substantiated this finding in addition to the observation that households did not use air conditioners continuously for attaining thermal comfort. Households across India are also known to avoid starting air-conditioner usage until outside temperatures exceeded 32°C 5 and peak use of air conditioners are during the hours when all residents of the house are presumably at home, that is between 10pm and 1am. 6

Additional energy conservation behaviours among the small fraction of air conditioner owning households have also been well noted. A 2020 study in Delhi reported three-fourth of the surveyed households used their air-conditioners for 6 hours or lower. The study further stated that even in the wealthiest neighbourhoods, during the hottest months of the year, about 15 percent of the households used air-conditioners for more than 8 hours per day. Another study in 2019 across four cities – Dhanbad, Meerut, Madurai and Vadodara – revealed that households used their air conditioners for less than six months in a year, with a majority stating four months. 7

Achievability of thermal comfort in public spaces

Today the majority of Indian households are either adapting to outside temperatures or adopting some energy conservation behaviours in relation to affording thermal comfort. Beyond homes, public spaces such as offices, shops, schools, hospitals, courtrooms etc, access to thermal comfort may not be as straight forward. A 2019 report by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy stated that in survey across 6650 users of District Courts, about 37% stated the need for better ventilation in waiting areas. 8 These respondents stated that there was a need to add fans or air conditioners to these spaces to improve the user experience. A report by the sub-committee of the National Court Management Systems Committee recommended proper ventilation and temperature control either by air conditioners or coolers as imperative infrastructure provision for courts.

In addition to these waiting areas court complexes like many other publicly accessed buildings have a host of other amenities – ATMs, a bank branch, a canteen, first-aid care services, oath commissioners, photocopy facility, a police booth, a post office, public notaries, stamp vendors, and typists. Anecdotally we observe that ATM booths used for an average of less than fifteen minutes by people are stocked with a full-powered air conditioning, while offices of photocopiers, public notaries spaces inhabited for at least nine hours a day are likely to be inadequately ventilated and are more likely rely entirely on fans for thermal comfort.

Thermal comfort is a niche subject that remains with architects, builders and energy consultants. While temperatures are rapidly soaring as a result of climate change, thermal comfort is not yet a human rights issue nor is it a developmental concern (given the plethora of other real human rights violations this neglect is understandable). However, when regulations are not able to consider all a respects of how thermal comfort pervades our day-to-day it is likely to serve the needs of very few. This is already being observed in how cooling is often confounded with air conditioning, both by policy and people. Existing programmes focusing on cooling energy efficiency (for e.g. BEE’s star rating programme and EESL’s super-efficient air conditioner programme) while successful, have not reached the halls of courtrooms and many such publicly accessed spaces. 

To afford a future where thermal comfort for all is a reality, we need to first study how we access it today. We need to understand who is accessing thermal comfort and how. There needs to be more conversations between those that design buildings and those that design policies. 

This is the second of a series of five essays aiming to examine the essential elements of access to thermal comfort or cooling in India. 

1.  Composite climate zone
2.  Warm and humid climate zone
3.  Standards compared by the study were IMAC (NBC 2016) and Adaptive model (ASHRAE 55-2010). 
4. Malik, J and Bardhan R. (2020). Thermal comfort in affordable housing of Mumbai, India. Energise 2020 Paper Proceedings. https://www.energiseindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Energise-2020-paper-proceedings.pdf
5.  Somvanshi, A. (2019) A midsummer nightmare. Centre for Science and Environment
6. Khosla, R., Agarwal, A., Sircar, N., and Chaterjee, D. (2021). The what, why, and how of changing cooling energy consumption in India’s urban household. Environmental Research Letters. 16 044035 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abecbc
7. Gorthi, A., Bhasin, S., and Chaturvedi, V. (2020). Assessing Consumers’ behaviours, perceptions, and challenges to enhance air conditioner energy efficiency. Energise 2020 Paper Proceedings. https://www.energiseindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Energise-2020-paper-proceedings.pdf
8. https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/National-report_single_Aug-1.pdf

Good COP, bad COP

Posted on by Chandra Bhushan

Glasgow wasn’t a washout. But on coal, India gained little & let China get away.

Climate change conferences follow a pattern: They never end on time; they make incremental progress, and there is always a last-minute drama that captures the headlines, drowning the overall assessment of the meeting. COP26 in Glasgow followed the pattern to a tee, though with a little more drama than some of the previous meetings.

Over the next few days, we will read headlines (mainly from Western media) screaming murder on how India weakened the outcome of COP26 by forcing a last-minute amendment that diluted the language on ending coal power. We will also read headlines from India defending this amendment. But in these headlines, consequential decisions made by this COP would be lost. First, though, let’s look at the coal controversy.
In the conference’s closing minutes, a dramatic process to change one paragraph of the final text unfolded, which was started by China, ended by India and decried by many countries. The paragraph relates to the phasing out of coal power. In the final version of the text, “phase-out” of coal power was mentioned.

China was the first to ‘mildly’ object to this paragraph. Then India proposed a new version of the paragraph that replaced “phase-out” with “phase-down” to describe what needs to happen to coal use in power generation. While India’s proposal was accepted, several countries, mainly Europeans and small vulnerable countries, objected to this change, including how it was done. Though the change in the word itself is a non-issue, how India got this done is certainly something that needs introspection.

Phase-down means progressively reducing the use of coal, whereas phase-out means altogether eliminating its use over a period of time. Thus, a country will have to first phase down its coal use and ultimately phase it out. So, phase-out is the end of phase-down. By changing the word to phase-down, India accepted that coal power must be reduced but did not agree to completely end it.

Now, this differentiation would be significant if there was a deadline to do so. But nowhere in the text is a timeline mentioned. In fact, Germany, the poster child of coal phase-out, is planning to end coal power by 2038 – two decades in the future. So, this fight over phase-out and phase-down is immaterial without a deadline, at least for this decade. And, the way renewable plus storage technology is developing, it is inevitable that India will not instal new coal power post-2030.

So, the question is what India gained by forcing this change? In my view, the answer is nothing. This change has no material bearing on India’s energy future or its development trajectory. However, by projecting itself as a coal champion and forcing the modification at the last moment, India’s image has undoubtedly taken a hit.

What is even more galling is that China, which consumes 50% of the world’s coal and had initiated the demand to change the paragraph, sat pretty while we exposed ourselves to the scorn of Western media. And, this has been the problem of India’s negotiating strategy at climate meets. We pick up fights where there is none.

At COP26, we should have exposed the double standards of developed countries on oil and gas, and fought for the finance and technology needed to meet the ambitious target announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the beginning of the conference. But we did little of these and wasted our energy on issues that are good for rabble-rousing. India has to decide what it wants. I am not sure that we have really thought through the end game.
Coming back to the decisions taken at COP, it is clear that many of them will shape how the world will develop in the future.

  • First, there is a tacit acceptance that the temperature goal must be 1.5°C and not between 1.5°C and 2.0°C as per the Paris Agreement. This is good for India’s poor, who will be most hit by higher temperatures.
  • Second, all the major economies have now announced a net-zero target. If all the net-zero commitments are met, we are on course to limit warming to 1.8°C-1.9°C. This means that we must now devise processes and mechanisms to hold countries accountable for their net-zero pledges.
  • Third, the rulebook of the Paris Agreement has been wrapped-up. After six years of haggling, a deal was finally struck on the market mechanism rules. These rules are stricter than the previous one and will allow countries like India to gain by selling carbon credits and bringing new technologies.
  • Fourth, while developed countries have wriggled out of making any future commitment on climate finance, there are enough provisions in the final decision to hold them accountable for delivering $100 billion in the near term and developing a road map for enhanced long-term climate finance.
  • Fifth, both adaptation and loss and damage have received much more attention than before. As a result, developed countries have agreed to double the adaptation finance and were forced to start a dialogue process for financing loss and damage.
  • Finally, the need to ensure just transitions while phasing down fossil fuels has received due recognition in the final decision. Accordingly, the decision includes providing finance and technology support to developing countries for the just transition.

Overall, while the Glasgow climate conference has not delivered everything, it has provided enough to keep the hope alive for meeting the 1.5°C climate goal. As far as India is concerned, it has decided to decarbonise its economy and pursue green development by announcing a net-zero target for 2070 and an ambitious 2030 target. We must now develop a negotiating strategy to facilitate and get financial and technological support for these targets.

The writer is CEO, International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST)

India must invest in its youth in coal areas for a just energy transition

Posted on by Diana Ann Joseph

After the announcement to attain net-zero by 2070 and the target to meet 50% of the energy needs from renewable energy sources at the ongoing climate conference- COP 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created a hope about an effective pathway of climate action in the coming years. The pledges will mean massive decarbonization and weaning away from fossil-fuels in the next couple of decades. As India embarks on this change, it also needs to ensure that the transition is not only an energy transition, but is also just and equitable for the local economies, communities and workers in the fossil-fuel regions. 

A big component of this just transition for India will be to ensure economic and social support and growth opportunities for the workers and local communities, particularly the youth who will define the country’s workforce and will be the bearers of our development pathway. However, improving workforce participation of youth, and ensuring decent and dignified jobs for them will require planning and investment. 

As one travels through India’s fossil-fuel regions, particularly coal mining regions, the glaring presence of young men working as contractual labourers in coal mines or thermal power plants is hard to miss. 

In Korba, the biggest coal producing district of India, and a coal and coal-based thermal power hub of Chhattisgarh, the urban landscape is blotted with power plant chimneys, power grids, cooling towers. Right under the nose of the NTPC thermal power plant is Fertilizer basti where possibly every male goes to work in the plant, all on contractual basis. 

A 24 year old, holding a college degree, works as a contracted operator; a 27 year old with higher secondary schooling, was a turbine maintainer. As we interact more, we find varied levels of education among the young workers, some graduates and high school pass-outs, but most educated upto elementary school. All of them work as equipment operators of various kinds, forming the hoard of unskilled labour which is trained by the companies for the operational jobs. Irrespective of their education, all of them work on meagre incomes of Rs. 10,000-15,000 a month. The coal mining labour is similar, with poor wages, but also categorically lower levels of education, mostly up to primary school level, some having elementary level of schooling. 

All these young labourers had another thing in common – circumstances – where access to education was poor and a local economy so centric to coal that it equalized the local wages and kept them low. The situation has created a surplus in cheap labour and tipped the power equation in favour of contractors, who then can hire and fire as they wish and also keep the wages low. Most of the youth we interacted with said the other best option of work for them was construction labour which was erratic and involved shifting base as per need. The gender angle is also stark, at a time when the merit of women’s participation in the workforce is increasingly stressed.  

However, this coal district is no exception. The poor employment options in districts dependent on extractive industries is a common phenomenon.  Research shows that extractive economies, with a high natural resource base, are often ironically accompanied by poor development of other resources/sectors, low infrastructure and trade connection investments. These regions hence, remain a mono economy.  iFOREST’s prior research in Jharkhand (Ramgarh district) also showed that the development of other sectors in the district was stymied by the coal-centric focus. 

If India has to realise its vision for a clean energy transition, inclusive development and the vision of being Atmanirbhar , it must build on the potential of the country’s human resources, particularly the youth. One of the key focuses will have to be diversification of local economies and making adequate and appropriate green jobs available. Simultaneously, it will also have to invest in ensuring a healthy, educated and skilled workforce. All these investments for a new economy should start now.To let this window lapse, will be a huge loss of opportunity.

How India can meet its Glasgow promise: From reforming discoms to recruiting skilled energy managers, the list of reforms is formidable

Posted on by Srestha Banerjee

From reforming discoms to recruiting skilled energy managers, the list of reforms is formidable.

On the first day of the Glasgow climate conference – COP26 – the biggest announcement came from India. Ending speculations on whether India ‘will’ or ‘can’ make a net-zero pledge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country will reach net-zero emissions by 2070. He also announced four major nearer-term targets exhibiting India’s will and ambition on climate action.

The targets, all of which are to be met by 2030, include an installed renewable energy capacity of 500 GW (up from 450 GW target); meeting 50% of the electricity requirement through renewable sources; reducing total projected cumulative carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes between 2020 and 2030; and reducing the carbon intensity of GDP by 45% from 2005 levels (up from the 33-35% target).

So how ambitious are these new targets?
India’s renewable energy targets mean that coal power will peak before 2030, when about 70% of India’s electricity installations will be renewable-based, battery and smart grid will dominate the market. This would be one of the most rapid decarbonisations of electricity sector anywhere in the world.
India’s net-zero target is equally ambitious, but few more details are required to understand what it means. There is confusion on whether the target is for all greenhouse gases (GHGs) or only for carbon dioxide (CO 2). If it is for all GHGs, then India’s target is compliant with 1.5°C warming. If it is only for CO 2, it is 2.0°C compliant. However, even if only for CO 2, it is still a strong signal to decarbonise the economy. As zero-carbon technologies become more accessible, India will update this target to attract massive global investments.

What domestic reforms do they demand?
In nutshell, these announcements have put India in a leadership role on climate mitigation action. The question now is, what are some of the major steps that must be taken domestically to steer the course of action in the coming years? There are three ‘make or break’ factors for realising India’s ambitious targets.

  • Firstly, if 500 GW of power-generation capacity must be achieved, India must create an enabling environment for attracting global investments. Reforming the distribution companies (discoms) is most important to create that environment.
  • Secondly, for meeting 50% of electricity supply through renewables, India’s grid infrastructure will have to be strengthened and battery storage capacity will have to be massively increased. Investing in smart grid and battery infrastructure is crucial for this.
  • Third, a huge skilled workforce will be required to run the new electricity infrastructure. This means investments must start in reskilling of existing and skilling of new workforce to meet the future requirements.
  • Finally, all of these changes in the energy and industrial systems must be paralleled by a plan of just transition, to ensure that we do not carry forward the legacy of unequal development challenges of the coal era, into the new era of renewable energy and a greener economy.

In fact, while energy transition has been a hot topic on the policy and business front, just transition has not got the due attention. However, as coal power will peak before 2030, it is time for India to start policy deliberations, develop plans for, and consider investing in it. And this is why it is crucial.

Could renewables mean unequal development?
India’s energy geography will change because of massive investments in renewables. Today’s coal-producing states will not be renewable superpowers. The renewable energy will be generated in western and southern states.
Therefore, as the share of non-fossil fuel energy grows, the coal regions can spiral into a poverty trap, which many of the districts here are already saddled with. There can also be huge social instability triggered by job losses and uncertainty of income opportunities. An estimated 20 million plus workers will be impacted countrywide by the transition. In fact, the disproportionately high number of informal workers in our key economic sectors such as coal mining, transportation, steel, cement etc adds to the challenge. But all this can be avoided through a well-planned and well-managed just transition over the next decades.
Planning a ‘just’ energy transition will be a smart move by the government to further a development agenda that benefits all. We have the next 30 years to complete the transition, but the process must start now.

The writer is Director, India Just Transition Centre, International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iFOREST)

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