Que: EESL has recently partnered with ISHARE. How do you see these developments in the backdrop of World Environment Day?

Ans: India is set to witness the world’s fastest growing cooling demand and consequently, its air conditioning market is primed to rapidly expand in the next five years. The current aggregated nationwide growth for cooling is expected to grow 2.2 to 3 times, just in the next decade, over the 2017 baseline.
This demand will rise steeply, particularly in urban areas, due to the underlying need for a solution to the problem of heat stress. Rising temperatures, population growth and urbanization will only push up the demand. While this soaring demand for space cooling is a critical developmental and social imperative, it also represents one of the largest end-use risks to climate.
EESL has attempted to address the energy efficiency in Cooling in recent years by implementing few innovative programs and also has set some ambitious goals to further intervene in this area. Marking World Environment Day, ISHARE being a technical think-tank, this partnership with ISHRAE gains greater importance, as we collaboratively explore energy efficiency, clean energy, and other ancillary service avenues in the HVAC&R domain.

Que: Is energy efficiency - a viable avenue for the restoration of our environment?

Ans: Energy efficiency has been one of the most potent tools in the global fight against climate change and ecosystem degradation. According to the IEA, energy efficiency can contribute up to 49% of the energy related CO2 emission reductions that are needed to limit the rise in global temperature in the coming decades. The industrial sector too has benefitted from the adoption of energy efficiency practices. Improving the energy efficiency at energy end-users through improved technology or practice would eventually reduce the fossil fuel consumption at the generation/supply side resulting in CO2 emission reduction. For example, EESL’s Street Light National Program (SLNP) which uses LED technology for municipality lightings has resulted in an annual saving of around 8 billion units of electricity and emission reduction of 5.6 million tons of CO2 to the environment. No doubt, Energy Efficiency is extremely important for all our economic sectors.
Thus, this World Environment Day, amidst the calls for urgent action to revive our damaged ecosystems, energy efficiency presents a viable avenue for the restoration of our environment.

Que: Do you think there is a need for some aggressive 'PPP Model' for developing more innovative, cheaper and energy-efficient products in the country – a step towards conserving our planet? How can this be achieved?

Ans: Absolutely! Now, more than ever before, we need to make India more sustainable and energy efficient. Public-private partnerships have considerable potential in making this vision a reality. Models such as Build – Own – Operate – Transfer (BOOT) and Pay – As – You – Save (PAYS), ESCOs, Energy Performance Contracting among others help bring down steep upfront costs and make adoption of energy efficiency cost-effective and affordable. Therefore, what we need now is swift implementation and increased adoption of eco-friendly and energy-efficient alternatives and increased collaboration in the sector, to roll out targeted and impactful initiatives. PPP Model is not only needed for the implementation of EE projects, but also for Research & Development (R&D), Financing and manufacturing of eco-friendly EE products.

Que: Kindly share some of the initiatives that EESL has taken to promote sustainability on World Environment Day?

Ans: Commemorating World Environment Day, several new business ventures are being announced, together with a discussion on sustainability and energy efficiency.
We are partnering with TERRE Policy Research, a Public Trust with the view to set up a launch platform for kick-starting the actions on carbon neutrality in educational institutions, we have also signed an MoU with ISHRAE for a strategic partnership to implement energy-efficient and clean energy solutions in the HVAC&R industry. With an aim to establish a framework on quality standards of supply chain management, we have signed an MoU with Collaborative Labelling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP), USA.
We are also organising a national conference on “Promoting Sustainability through Energy Efficiency in MSMEs” through web conferencing. The eminent speakers from the Ministry of MSME, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, EESL, SME Cluster Associations and others would deliberate on various issues and challenges of Energy Efficiency in the MSME sector.
Focused on resetting our relationship with nature, we organised a webinar on ‘Energy Efficiency & Path to Sustainable Development’ in partnership with P4G and the Institute of Sustainable Communities (ISC). This webinar, participated by dignitaries from Asian countries, discussed about the present status of EE in different countries and how EESL’s model could be replicated. Additionally, EESL would also be launching a special edition newsletter on World Environment Day, themed “Nurturing the nature for a sustainable future”.

Que: How important is the role of consumer awareness on using energy-efficient products? Will cost also a matter of concern for such products?

Ans: Consumer awareness is one of the main pillars of success in adopting energy-efficient products. In its journey towards mainstreaming energy efficiency, EESL faced multiple challenges. But it came up with strategies that addressed those challenges and created a conducive environment for stakeholder participation.
EESL focuses on developing products and business cases that are simple and easy to understand, which has also been demonstrated through the success of UJALA which not just transformed the lighting industry but also changed consumer behavior towards energy-efficient lighting in India.
With EESL’s energy efficiency programmes, there is no need to invest in or assume any risk for the adoption of energy-efficient products and services. Instead, consumers enjoy the immediate and long-term benefits and advantages of energy efficiency interventions. They can also repay EESL for its investment from the energy savings they have accumulated over time, be it a product or a service. EESL’s programmes - Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA), Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) and Building Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP) have transformed the market and consumer behaviour by increasing the adoption of energy-efficient technologies that have benefitted the consumers significantly by reducing electricity bills, while the DISCOMs and ULBs have also availed increased savings. With its Super-Efficient Air Conditioning Programme (SEAC), EESL is enabling residential and institutional consumers to save up to 25% to 40% in energy costs associated with air conditioning with affordable price.