Workshop on "Implementation of Cooling Actions for Buildings at the State level in India"

India has been experiencing severe heat waves over the past few decades, and the summer temperatures are rising every year. As per the India Meteorological Department, Pune, the number of heatwave days in India has increased from 413 over 1981-1990 to 600 over 2011-2020. The rising heat is also responsible for heat related illnesses and fatality across the country. It is estimated that 39,815 people have lost their lives due to heat waves in India since 1967, the second most lethal disaster after floods. The high temperature along with population growth, rapid urbanization and economic growth is contributing to steep increase in the country’s cooling demand across sectors. The current means of addressing cooling requirement is dependent on use of air-conditioners and refrigeration equipment which are energy intensive and results in significant greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2019, India became one of the first countries in the world to develop a cooling action plan (India Cooling Action Plan- ICAP) to address the urgency and complexity of mainstreaming sustainable cooling practices in multiple sectors. One of the critical focuses of the ICAP is to mainstream affordable passive interventions and sustainable space cooling in buildings to help them provide thermal comfort to their occupants. However, the implementation success of the ICAP recommendations needs to be improved in many states, including Kerala. It is vital that the state government department and cities need guidance on advancing cooling actions and implementing the ambitious programs. It is equally essential that these actions and programs address the cooling needs of vulnerable communities.

WRI India is working in the state of Kerala and supporting the subnational government to facilitate implementation of ICAP recommendations in building sector. The purpose of this workshop is to disseminate key lessons and findings from the study on driving sustainable cooling actions in State and addressing cooling needs of people living in affordable houses/informal settlements. The workshop will bring together government departments, civil society organizations, research institutes, sector experts, building professionals and industry bodies to discuss strategies for mainstreaming ICAP cooling actions at scale at the subnational level.

SPEAKERS

• Dr. Binu Francis, Secretary, Corporation of Thiruvananthapuram, Government of Kerala
• Dr. R Harikumar, Director, Energy Management Centre Kerala
• Rizwan-uz Zaman; State Senior Consultant, Assam Climate Change Management Society, Government of Assam
• Dr. Anjali Mahendra, Director of Global Research, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
• Bishal Thapa, Senior Director, India, CLASP
• Vivek Gilani, Founder & Director, cBalance Solutions Hub
• Prashant Bhanware, Associate Director, Greentech Knowledge Solutions (P) Ltd
• Dr. Sachin Kumar, Director, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation
• Bharath Jairaj, Executive Director, WRI India
• Namrata Ginoya, Senior Program Manager, Energy and Resilience, WRI India
• Deepak Tewari, Research Fellow, WRI India

• Dhilon Subramanian, Manager, WRI India

  *To be confirmed