Fearing the threat to its economy due to the rising global temperature, the Tamil Nadu government is coming out with an action plan which could transform the urban planning and design of buildings.
The action plan being prepared under the guidance of the State Planning Commission by involving the State Departments, research institutions, civil society organizations and institutions of national and international expertise will focus on improving conventional cooling by increasing the efficiency of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. It will also focus on green roofs, cool roofs, cool pavements.
Sources indicated that the first working committee meeting is scheduled this week. The state is coming out with an action plan as it is located in the vulnerable part of the Indian Peninsula and is subjected to climate and geological related disasters viz., cyclone, flood, earthquakes, tsunami and drought to varying degrees.
Though the nationwide data shows that between 1992 to 2015, a total of 24,223 deaths happened across the country due to heat wave, there are no data about fatalities in the state. Sources said that state planning department has come out with a concept note on mitigation of heat, which is linked with economic growth and is recognised as key to the health, wellbeing, and productivity of people in hot climates.
According to a concept note accessed by The New Indian Express, increasing heat requires a large part of the cooling demand across sectors such as buildings, cold-chain, refrigeration and transport. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), refrigeration and air conditioning causes 10% of the global CO2 emissions. Only 9% of Indian households have air conditioning as of now, but this demand is projected to increase 20-fold by 2050.
"Under business-as-usual, this translates into a huge emissions and energy problem, as room air conditioners alone will account for one-quarter of India’s emissions and 45% of nationwide peak electricity demand in 2050. This in turn risks deadly power outages as both temperatures and electricity demand surge during India’s more frequent and intense heat waves," the report states.
As a result the state could go in for adoption and enforcement of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) for both commercial and residential sectors at the municipal and urban and local body level and through development of city level action plan, sources said.
The report states that the number of persons living in urban areas will continue to grow at a faster rate than the population in the rural areas due to migration and increasing urbanization in Tamil Nadu. "The concurrence of heat and drought events are causing crop production losses and tree mortality. The risks to health and food production will be made more severe from the sudden food production losses exacerbated by heat-induced labour productivity losses. These interacting impacts will increase food prices, reduce household incomes, and lead to malnutrition and climate-related deaths, especially in tropical regions," the concept note states.
According to an ILO report of 2019, India lost around 4.3% of working hours due to heat stress in 1995 and is expected to lose 5.8% of working hours in 2030. It also shows that 9.04% of working hours are expected to be lost in each agriculture and construction sectors, respectively, due to heat stress in 2030
"Workers in sectors like agriculture and construction will be severely impacted in 2030 because India’s large population depends on these sectors for their livelihoods. In absolute terms, India is likely to lose around 34 million full-time jobs in 2030 due to heat stress," the report states.
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