Energy-efficient tech for keeping places cool can open USD 1.6 trn investment opportunity by 2040 for India: Report

We recommend that these moves be accelerated by creating a flagship government mission to address the challenges and opportunities from rising temperatures in India, said the authors of the report, Abhas K.

With a steady rise in temperatures in India due to climate change, keeping spaces cool using alternative and innovative energy-efficient technologies can open an investment opportunity of USD 1.6 trillion by 2040 for the country and create nearly 3.7 million jobs, according to a report.

The World Bank report also highlighted that the annual estimated food losses total USD 13 billion in India as only 4 per cent of fresh produce in India is covered by cold chain facilities.

The third largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the world, pre-COVID-19, India lost approximately 20 per cent of temperature-sensitive medical products and 25 per cent of vaccines due to broken cold chains, leading to losses of USD 313 million a year.

The report said by 2037, the demand for cooling is likely to be eight times more than current levels.

''This means there will be a demand for a new air-conditioner every 15 seconds, leading to an expected rise of 435 per cent in annual greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades,'' it said.

The report, 'Climate Investment Opportunities in India's Cooling Sector' by the World Bank found that shifting to a more energy-efficient pathway could lead to a substantial reduction in expected carbon dioxide levels over the next two decades.

Noting that refrigeration provides the second-largest opportunity in terms of growth in cooling demand and energy consumption, the report said investing in pre-cooling and refrigerated transport can help decrease food loss by about 76 per cent, leading to a 16 per cent reduction of CO₂ emissions.

''Agricultural cold chain sector alone has the potential to create 1.7 million jobs,'' it said.

By 2030, over 160-200 million people across the country could be exposed to lethal heat waves annually and around 34 million people in India will face job losses due to heat stress-related productivity decline.

The report said that the annual refrigerant demand for cooling across sectors is expected to grow by more than six times between 2018-38 and servicing sector consumes more than 40 per cent of the total refrigerant currently used in the country.

''India's cooling strategy can help save lives and livelihoods, reduce carbon emissions and simultaneously position India as a global hub for green cooling manufacturing,'' said Auguste Tano Kouamé, the World Bank's Country Director in India.

''The report suggests a sustainable roadmap for cooling that has the potential to reduce 300 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2040,'' he added.

The report found that as temperatures steadily rose in India due to climate change, keeping spaces cool using alternative and innovative energy-efficient technologies could open an investment opportunity of USD 1.6 trillion by 2040.

This also has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly and create nearly 3.7 million jobs.

The new World Bank report proposes a roadmap to support the India Cooling Action Plan's new investments in three major sectors: building construction, cold chains, and refrigerants.

Adopting climate-responsive cooling techniques as a norm in both private and government-funded constructions can ensure that those at the bottom of the economic ladder are not disproportionately affected by rising temperatures, it said.

The report suggested that India's affordable housing program for the poor, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), can adopt such changes on a scale.

This could benefit over 11 million urban homes and over 29 million rural houses that the government aims to construct.

The report also recommended private investments in district cooling technologies. These generate chilled water in a central plant which is then distributed to multiple buildings via underground insulated pipes.

This brings down the cost for providing cooling to individual buildings and can reduce energy bills by 20-30 per cent compared to the most efficient conventional cooling solution.

To minimize rising food and pharmaceutical wastage during transport due to higher temperatures, the report recommended foxing gaps in cold chain distribution networks Investing in pre-cooling and refrigerated transport can help decrease food loss by about 76 per cent and reduce carbon emissions by 16 per cent India aims to phase out the production and use of ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons, used as coolants in air conditioners and refrigerators by 2047.

The report recommended improvements in servicing, maintenance and disposal of equipment that use hydrochlorofluorocarbons, alongside a shift to alternative options with a lower global warming footprint.

This can create 2 million jobs for trained technicians over the next two decades and reduce the demand for refrigerants by around 31 per cent.

''The right set of policy actions and public investments can help leverage large-scale private investment in this sector. We recommend that these moves be accelerated by creating a flagship government mission to address the challenges and opportunities from rising temperatures in India,'' said the authors of the report, Abhas K. Jha, Practice Manager, Climate and Disaster Risk Management, South Asia and Mehul Jain, Climate Change Specialist, World Bank.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)