India Cooling Action Plan(ICAP)

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• Recently, Minister of State, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in Lok Sabha gave information on ICAP.

About ICAP

• The India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The ICAP provides a 20-year perspective and outlines actions needed to provide access to sustainable cooling.
• The plan describes cooling as a “developmental need” and seeks to address the rising demand in cooling, from buildings to transport to cold-chains, through sustainable actions.
• The overarching goal of ICAP is to provide sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all while securing environmental and socio-economic benefits for the society. This will also help in reducing both direct and indirect emissions.
• The plan estimates that the national cooling demand would grow eight times in the next 20 years, which would result in a corresponding five to eight-fold rise in the demand for refrigerants that involve the use of HFCs.
• The Plan seeks to
  • reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by 2037-38, 
  • reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by 2037-38,
  • Reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by 2037-38,
  • recognise “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under national Science and Technology Programme,
  • training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23, synergizing with Skill India Mission.

• As part of the ICAP, the government has also announced targeted R&D efforts aimed at developing low-cost alternatives to HFCs.

Government Initiatives

1. With regard to reduction of cooling and energy demand in Space Cooling in building sector, a list of action points have been finalised after mapping of the recommendations of the India Cooling Action Plan with the ongoing government programmes/ schemes of the various Ministries.
2. Towards promoting passive cooling in buildings, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has brought out the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) for all large commercial (non-residential) buildings and Eco-Niwas Samhita (ECBC-R) for the residential buildings.
3. Studies on promoting non-Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs) and low Global Warming Potential based technologies in Cold Chain, Building sector and Public Procurement have been undertaken and reports have been published.
4. To promote indigenous development of low global warming potential refrigerants, the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India has funded a research project to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad.
5. Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in collaboration with Bureau of Indian Standards has undertaken a simulation study for developing safety standards for flammable refrigerants in the Refrigeration and Air-conditioning sector.
6. Up-skilling and certification of 43,450 Refrigeration and Air-conditioning (RAC) service technicians has been undertaken under the national skill qualification framework (NSQF) of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).  In addition, 29,000 RAC service technicians are being trained as part of implementation of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) phase out Management Plans under the Montreal Protocol.

Benefits:

• The following benefits would accrue to the society over and above the environmental benefits:
  • Thermal comfort for all – provision for cooling for EWS and LIG housing,
  • Sustainable cooling – low GHG emissions related to cooling,
  • Doubling Farmers Income – better cold chain infrastructure – better value of produce to farmers, less wastage of produce,
  • Skilled workforce for better livelihoods and environmental protection,
  • Make in India – domestic manufacturing of air-conditioning and related cooling equipments,
  • Robust R&D on alternative cooling technologies – to provide push to innovation in cooling sector.
• Cooling is also linked to human health and productivity. Linkages of cooling with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are well acknowledged.
• The cross-sectoral nature of cooling and its use in development of the economy makes provision for cooling an important developmental necessity.
• The development of ICAP has been a multi-stakeholder inclusive process encompassing different Government Ministries/Departments/Organizations, Industry and Industry Associations, Think tanks, Academic and R&D institutions.

The PIB Link

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1805795

Question- Describe  India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), government initiatives in this direction and potential benefits that can accrue from this plan.