Draft India Cooling Action Plan

Why in news?

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has released a draft India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP).

What is the Plan on?

• The many high-temperature cities in India are only set to get hotter in the coming future.
• The requirement for cooling is thus being recognised as key to health and well-being.
• The ICAP comes as an effort to assess this requirement and plan ahead.
• The draft by the MoEF Ozone Cell provides a 20-year perspective, with projections for cooling needs in 2037-38.
• It aims to provide sustainable cooling while keeping in mind, the need to protect the ozone layer from substances that can deplete it.

What are the highlights?

• India - The document puts India at the bottom in “access” to cooling, compared to the rest of the world.
• This is reflected in “low per-capita levels” of energy consumption for space cooling.
• It stands at 69 kWh for India as against the world average of 272 kWh.
• Requirement - The cooling requirement in India is projected to grow around 8 times by 2037-38.
• This is in terms of tonnes of refrigeration (TR) required.
• The building sector shows the most significant growth in required TR, nearly 11 times as compared to 2017-18.
• The cold-chain and refrigeration sectors grow around 4 times the 2017-18 levels.
• The transport air-conditioning grows around 5 times the 2017-18 levels.
• The growing transport sector and income levels will increase ownership of cars, a majority of these air-conditioned.
• It is thus expected to have a growth rate of almost 9% annually up till 2040.
• For space cooling, room air-conditioners constitute the dominant share of cooling energy consumption.
• It was around 40% in 2017-18 and projected to grow to around 50% in 2037-38.
• Approach - The draft looks at two scenarios:

1. a reference scenario that assumes current policies and level of effort
2. an intervention scenario that factors in impacts of new interventions

• The intervention scenario suggests that the projected total refrigerant demand can be reduced by 25-30% by 2037-38.
• This is achievable only through improvements in cooling equipment efficiency, and operation and maintenance (O&M) practices.

What are the suggestions made?

• The MoEF states that the plan takes a holistic and balanced approach.
• It proposes combining active (air-conditioning) and passive cooling strategies.
• For instance, it considers

1. passively-cooled building design that deploys natural and mechanical ventilation
2. promoting the use of energy-efficient refrigerant
3. adoption of adaptive thermal comfort standards to specify pre-setting of temperatures of air-conditioning equipment
4. development of energy-efficient and renewable-energy-based cold chains for perishable foods

• Even by 2038, a significant percentage of households will not be able to afford refrigerant-based cooling equipment.
• Therefore, wider proliferation of thermally efficient residential built spaces is required.
• They should have reduced heat load and enhanced ventilation.
• This should be coupled with efficient non-refrigerant-based cooling equipment, such as fans and coolers.

What are the global commitments?

• A large part of the cooling demand is met through refrigerant-based cooling.
• These refrigerants are regulated under the Montreal Protocol.
• It regulates on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and India is a signatory to it.
• In 2016, the Kigali Amendment to the Protocol was made.
• India and few other developing countries agreed to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 85% of their 2024-26 levels by 2047.
• HFCs are commonly used in air-conditioners and as refrigerants.

Source: Indian Express