24 September 2014

India, Switzerland join hands to reduce energy consumption


 As India strives for a low carbon inclusive growth — even as it facilitates speedy clearances for infrastructure projects — the government is looking at Switzerland to cut down its construction induced Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The on-going Indo-Swiss Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) aims to reduce the energy consumption in new commercial, public and residential buildings and "disseminate best practices" for their construction, Swiss government officials said here. BEEP contributes to strengthen the objectives of government on energy conservation.
Speaking to The Times of India, Swiss Ambassador Dr Linus von Castelmur said Switzerland was pleased tha t the cooperation of the two countries on energy efficiency in buildings had already resulted in sizeable achievements.
"One recent milestone was the development of energy efficient design guidelines for residential buildings which have been endorsed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency of the Ministry of Power and launched recently as part of the Government's 100 days agenda," he said.
Residential buildings in 2012 are said to have accounted for 20% of India's total electricity consumption which is expected to increase seven-fold by 2032.
In another project, Switzerland is supporting a research project on production of a new type of cement.
The Narendra Modi government also plans to develop 100 smart cities and other major infrastructure investments. As the demand for cement products increases, the pressure on India to contain its GHG emissions is also expected to rise
According to Swiss officials, it is now possible to double the quantity of cement produced from the same quantity of limestone. The so called Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) generates 30% less CO2 emissions compared to traditional cement. A joint research on LC3 is being carried out by an international team of the Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne in Switzerland in collaboration with three Indian Institutes of Technology - IIT Delhi, IIT Madras and IIT Bombay - and a technology incubation partner, Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA).
India is the first country where LC3 is being tested, both in laboratory and in the field, on a large scale, said Swiss authorities. "India was selected for the size of its market and its growth potential, the wide availability of kaolin clays and most importantly the commitment of the Indian government to reduce CO2 emissions," said a Swiss official.
According to Switzerland, Indo-Swiss bilateral cooperation moves in line with India's emphasis on low carbon inclusive growth and its international voluntary commitment to reduce GHG emission intensity.
Cement production presently shares 5-8% of manmade emissions globally. "Switzerland therefore considers India's construction environment as a priority sector, aiming to improve energy efficiency in the building sector (residential and public), strengthen capacities of the urban governments for integration of low carbon strategies in urban planning and improving the resource efficiency of building materials such as cement," said a Swiss official.

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