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Building Change with Green Technology
T he building sector is estimated to be worth 10% of the global GDP (USD 7.5 trillion). It employs 111 million people. Developing countries like India and China are currently going through a construction boom. Though China is expected to be the worlds leading construction market by the year 2018, the construction growth rate is expected to be higher in India. It is estimated to touch double digits in both residential and non-residential markets.The energy intensive
construction sector which is already one of the largest contributors of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally can play havoc with our natural
environment. The silver lining to this dark cloud is that the building
industry has a huge potential to mitigate climate change effects if
environmental friendly technologies are adopted on a large scale.
Challenge to the world today Buildings use about 40% of the global energy, 25% of the global water and 40% of the global resources, and they are responsible for approximately 1/3 of the global GHG emissions. The construction sector in India contributes around 22% of the national GHG emissions. With the estimated growth in the sector, this figure is set to increase further. The country is currently dealing with a staggering housing deficit of almost 60 million units for close to 25% of the population that do not have dwellings of their own. This exerts tremendous pressure on natural resources like soil and coal (for brick making), timber, limestone (for cement), water, stones, etc. About 80% of the burden is borne by four key sectors i.e steel, cement, lime and bricks. All four are energy and resource intensive. 0.18 - 0.28 tonnes of coal and 100-110 kWh of power are required to manufacture one tonne of cement. With a total production of 183 million tonnes, India is the 2nd largest cement producer in the world. The brick sector, being unorganized and small scale, is another major contributor to pollution. Annual production is estimated at 170 million bricks fired in 15,000 units employing 8 million people. In order to achieve production at this scale, 350 million tonnes of fertile top soil and 24 million tonnes of coal are burnt each year, emitting 42 million tonnes of CO2. Developing countries are more vulnerable to climate change impacts due to their increased biophysical vulnerability as well as lower adaptive capacities of the local communities. Mining large quantities of materials such as limestone, clay and coal often results in extensive deforestation and loss of top soil. If the consumption of these finite materials is minimised by using alternative building materials and techniques, it will result in considerable energy saving as well as reduction of CO2 emissions. Therefore, it is important to understand how buildings can be constructed with reduced material intensity while at the same time meeting structural and functional requirements. Green Technology Green technologies for low carbon building material production and construction offer immense potential towards reduction of GHG emissions and resource consumption. Technologies to improve energy and resource efficiency of production processes and products are available. For example, in the cement industry the inefficient wet process is being replaced by the more efficient dry process. The use of fly ash in cement production also contributes to this end. Advantages of Green Technology in Construction Reducing GHG emissions Reducing global energy consumption Generating significant savings and reducing operating costs Mitigating environmental degradation Enhancing resource efficiency Creating new green jobs and business opportunities |
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Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) is a market based mechanism to enhance cost effectiveness of improvements in energy efficiency in energy intensive large industries and facilities through certification of energy savings that could be traded. Targets for improvements in energy efficiency will be set in a manner that reflects fuel usage and the economic effort involved. It extends to nine industrial sectors, namely aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali, fertilizers, iron and steel, pulp and paper, railways, textiles and thermal power plants named Designated Consumers(DCs). The scheme creates a market for energy efficiency through tradable certificates called Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts) by allowing them to be used for meeting energy reduction targets. These certificates can be issued by any of the 478 industries who are able to exceed their respective notified targets. The value of the certificate amounts to the excess achievement over the set target. The beneficiary industry can trade this certificate with any other entity that is unable to meet its target. Buying ESCerts has been allowed as sufficient fulfilment of compliance requirement without any penal action. PAT is a valuable model for energy efficiency programmes with a business perspective. Source : Press Information Bureau, Government of India |
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Construction today is primarily RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) based which employs extensive use of steel and cement. Alternatives like precast elements for plank and joist roofs, filler slabs and ferrocement channels reduce material consumption and costs by 30-40 % over conventional roofing technologies. Cavity walls, rat trap bond for laying bricks and timber reinforced walls are technology options for walling that save material and enhance thermal properties of the structure. Another aspect where technology has a key role to play is in the use of operational energy. Energy consumption in buildings can be reduced by 30 to 80% using proven and commercially available green technologies. Energy efficient lighting and air conditioning solutions offer huge energy savings. Technology Catalysts While technology is available, its spontaneous adoption is non-existent or slow at best. Technology uptake can be catalysed through a favourable policy environment, market creation for these products, capacity building of stakeholders and access to finance. Some government schemes are looking at combining technology upgradation with market based finance mechanisms. The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme is an example of the same. Voluntary green rating standards like IGBC Green Homes, GRIHA and BEE star ratings for energy efficiency have also encouraged uptake of green technologies. Inclusion of low embodied energy building materials produced with green technologies in such rating systems will provide an impetus to the use of these products. The government of Bihar has taken steps to accelerate the adoption of green brick production technologies in the state. Bihar will need over 7500 million bricks over the next five years just to meet the rural housing gap of 1.1 million dwellings per year. Potential savings of 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions are possible while creating livelihoods for 0.35 million people by introducing cleaner production systems. In order to capitalise on this potential, the Bihar government has formed an inter-departmental task force on accelerating cleaner brick production. The Development Alternatives Group and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation are supporting this initiative. The Task Force is working towards introducing improvements in the sector with an aim to reduce pollution and the consumption of coal and fertile top soil. The four major areas that the Task Force will be looking at are as follows: Increasing awareness among entrepreneurs through workshops and seminars Facilitating policy support for large scale adoption by providing incentives to green technology enterprises Facilitating increased and easy finance support for small entrepreneurs through banks and other financial institutions for uptake of green technologies Accelerating service delivery through capacity building of technology providers In conclusion, the three cornerstones to successful adoption of green technologies are favourable policy, easy access to finance and efficient service. If the triad is in place, the true potential of green technology to mitigate environmental damage can be met. q Kriti Nagrath References 1. UNEP SBCI 2. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), 2013 3. UNEP SBCI 4. Cement Industry in India: Trade Perspectives Ecobrick.in |
