New Delhi: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has called for promoting StartUps in carbon netural building construction for developing net-zero energy and climate resilient solutions for the building sector in India.
The minister was speaking at the Solar Decathlon India Awards Ceremony, an Indo-US joint initiative for clean energy, with a theme of Climate Change and Net-Zero: Challenges for the Building Sector.
The Minister urged real estate developers, builders, industry, and academia to find innovative, affordable solutions that adapt to India’s climatic zones to address extreme weather events, and reduce risk to lives and property.
Jitendra Singh also reiterated that PM Modi has extended full-fledged support to StartUps and even called upon them to tackle challenges facing the country including the climate challenge.
Recognizing the challenge of developing net-zero energy and net-zero-water, Dr Jitendra Singh congratulated the participants and winners of Solar Decathlon India for taking up real, live building projects and developing innovative solutions.
He said, Solar Decathlon India (SDI) is helping develop the next generation of architects, engineers, and entrepreneurs who can deliver net-zero-energy buildings.
Jitendra Singh said, India has laid out an ambitious plan to address climate change, one of the biggest challenges facing the global community.
In the recent COP26 meeting held in Glasgow, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, presented the Panchamrit plan, India’s five-point climate action agenda.
They include 500GW by 2030, 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030, Reduction of total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now to 2030, Reduction of the carbon intensity of the economy by 45 per cent by 2030, over 2005 levels and achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2070.
Dwelling on the theme of Climate Change and Net-Zero: Challenges for the Building Sector, Jitendra Singh said, globally, the construction and operation of buildings account for 38% of the total energy related CO2 emissions that cause global warming.
Prasad Vaidya, Director, Solar Decathlon India, said “With over 5,00,000 students graduating annually from building sector courses, and over 40 billion square metres of buildings to be built between now and 2050.
Dr. Nandini Kannan, Executive Director, Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum, highlighted Solar Decathlon India said “Achieving India’s ambitious climate and clean energy goals will require the development of a globally-trained workforce that leverages technology and cutting-edge R&D to develop innovative, impactful solutions.
Solar Decathlon India is a unique initiative that is building a network of young professionals who can innovate and implement resilient net- zero energy buildings to combat climate change.
In the second year, 1200 students representing 109 institutions from 42 different cities across India participated in the Solar Decathlon India program.
Solar Decathlon India is a U.S.-India collaboration under an MOU between the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and the US Department of Energy, and is conducted by the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) and the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS).
