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| Glass fronts and future shock |
| Pallavi Aiyar / Copenhagen Nov 21, 2009, 00:31 IST |
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Architects and the structures they design pivotal in climate war.
“People often ask me about the worst, least energy-efficient building in India,” says Jens Laustsen, a policy expert with the IEA (International Energy Agency). “They ask when this building was constructed. Was it in the 60s or the 70s?”
“My answer surprises them. The fact is that this building is yet to be built.”
The rapid economic growth that India has experienced in the 21st century has millions of its urban middle-class residents aspiring to a modernity that would place their cities on the global map. Architecture is inescapably part of this quest and the kind of glittering, glass and chrome structures that dot the new metroscapes are emblematic of it.
Lausten shudders when recalling a fancy, new building he saw on his last trip to India. “It was 45 degrees outside and the building had glass on all its facades. It needed one of the world’s largest air-conditioning systems to keep it cool.”
The significance of this observation only hits home when the dramatic but under-publicised link between buildings and potential climate catastrophe is clearly articulated.
Fighting climate change usually conjures up images of futuristic and expensive technological innovations. But in fact something as mundane as the placement of windows on homes can be an equally effective and far more affordable weapon in this battle.
According to the IEA, buildings consume close to 40 percent of world energy. The good news is that energy waste in buildings used for heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water can be cut by a massive 75 percent globally, using existing and largely affordable technologies.
Laustsen says improved energy efficiency alone can deliver 54 percent of the carbon dioxide reductions that the UN climate panel calls for – more than double what can be had from developing renewable energy sources. Eelco van Heel, CEO of the Rockwool Group, one of the world’s leading insulation companies, says if buildings in Europe were renovated to bring them up-to-date with modern energy standards, the region would save energy worth ¤270 billion and prevent the emission of 460 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030.
Laustsen says the savings in developing countries like China and India would be even greater. The improvement of a building’s efficiency at the planning stage is relatively simple and cheap, compared to improvements after a building has already been constructed, he explains.
Construction activity in developed countries is relatively low. In many developing countries, however, new construction accounts for a much larger share of buildings. Energy savings in these new buildings from a more efficient design will have a larger and faster impact on the economy.
The scale of energy efficiency in buildings is large enough to influence security policy, climate preservation and public health on a national and global scale says Lausten. More efficient buildings mean a lower energy need, allowing governments to reduce their dependence on imported fuels, while making climate policy targets easier to reach.
Consumers win as a result of cheaper electricity bills and increased indoor comfort, while businesses profit from this sunrise sector. The IEA estimates that while an energy-efficient building costs six to eight per cent more than a conventional one, the payback from efficiencies obtained can be realised in under 10 years. Since buildings are typically constructed to be used for many decades, the economic logic for increased efficiency is evident.
Sachin Sandhir, Managing Director of the Indian branch of RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors), agrees that low carbon buildings present a lucrative business opportunity. He says the green buildings sector in India has been growing 45 percent annually over the past five years. As a result, the total supply of green construction in the country has increased to 6.8 million sq ft as of September, nearly double the 3.8 million sq ft available in early 2007.
Sandhir lists a number of architects and real estate firms that are already turning green buildings into money spinners. These include DLF, Raheja Developers, 3C Company, the Shree Ram Urban Infrastructure Group, the Lodha Group, Vasavi Housing Infrastructure and SunTechnics.
These businesses have been helped by a new energy conservation building code (ECBC) adopted by the government in 2007 that targets large commercial buildings. But, although the commercial real estate sector in India has been a major contributor to the energy-efficient building segment, Sandhir says the residential sector lags. He blames a lack of awareness about the economic and social benefits of green buildings. Laustsen adds to this the inadequate availability of qualified architects, designers, engineers and compliant building materials.
India’s building code remains voluntary, even in the commercial sector, so that massive amounts of energy continue to be wasted every day in a country that is seriously energy-deficient. While nearly 400 million Indians still lack access to electricity, a fact often brought up in support of India’s stance in global climate negotiations, a recent Ministry of Power report points out that about 25 per cent of the total electricity utilised in government buildings in the country is wasted due to unproductive design, resulting in an annual energy related loss of Rs 1.5 billion.
The country has a moral right to economic development. But neither a moral right to or economic need for the kind of development that equates modernity with glass-fronted buildings.
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