IEA and the Government of India entered into a Strategic Partnership on 27th January, 2021, to strengthen their collaboration across a range of vital areas including energy security and clean energy transitions. The signing of the Framework marked a major milestone in global energy governance that could eventually lead to IEA membership for India. IEA is working with major economies around the world to enhance energy security and to help accelerate their clean energy transitions. Read more

Analysis released by Climate Trends and JMK Research and Analytics revealed that the cost of hybrid RE with battery storage system is at parity with new coal power plants in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, in 10-year time, incremental capacity addition would further drive down the cost by over 31%. Cost of energy for a hypothetical hybrid, solar, wind and li-ion battery storage system in the state is Rs 4.97/kWh in 2021, which will fall to Rs 3.4/kWh by 2030, whereas cost of electricity produced from new coal power plants in Tamil Nadu is between Rs 4.5-6/kWh. Read more

42 companies announced net-zero targets in 2019 and 2020. More than half of those plan to plant trees, preserve forests or capture CO₂ in order to get there, even as their own businesses continue to warm the atmosphere. These measures, known as carbon dioxide removal (CDR), have a limit. As net-zero plans proliferate, some companies assume they can rely disproportionately on CDR to offset their own emissions. Read more

The new net zero homes are expected to produce 75-80% less carbon emissions as compared to current levels. To ensure industry is ready to meet the new standards by 2025, new homes will be expected to produce 31% lower carbon emissions from 2021. Read more

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is planning to publish a comprehensive roadmap on how the global energy sector can reach net zero by 2050. The roadmap will highlight mechanisms for emerging and developing economies to give them access to knowhow, financing and technologies for clean and reliable energy. Read more

The RE industry has been spurred on by falling costs and rising innovation, ‘net-zero’ commitments and the enhanced focus on building back better and greener out of the pandemic. Integration of decentralised energy into power grids remains a challenge in all countries. IRENA notes that no insurmountable technical constraints exist for the transformation of grids in this regard, but the economic, political and regulatory environments will be critical to this achievement. The guide examines the current state of the renewables sector in 44 jurisdictions across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America and outlines expectations for the future of the sector in each of those jurisdictions. Read more

Carbon levels are at a record high and the past decade has been the hottest of all times on record. There is a need to cut production of fossil fuels by 6% annually between present times and 2030 to fight climate change, but instead the world is on a track for a 2% annual rise. With the adoption of Paris Agreement by countries, a movement of carbon neutrality is paving its way and it is expected that 70% of the world economies will commit to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Read more

The state government has made Andhra Pradesh Energy Conservation Building Code (APECBC) mandatory to get building approvals for all commercial buildings with a plot area of 1,000 square meters or built-up area of 2,000 square meters. Further, the Code will be mandatory for all multiplexes, hospitals, hotels and convention centers irrespective of their built-up area. Read more

Washington House Bill 1084,The Healthy Homes and Clean Buildings Act, would require all new buildings in the State Washington to be zero-carbon by 2030 and seek to eliminate fossil fuel consumption in existing buildings by 2050. The legislation put Washington on pace to become the first U.S. state to implement statewide restrictions on natural gas infrastructure in new construction, while simultaneously tackling retrofits in existing buildings. This is a move towards decarbonizing the building sector with electric utilities taking the chief responsibility for heating homes and businesses. Read more

Godrej & Boyce was nominated as one of the four finalists for the ‘Business Leadership in Sustainability Award’ that recognizes companies which are truly integrating sustainability into their business models and contributing in the transition towards a sustainably built environment. Furthermore, the Plant 13 Annexe building located at Vikhroli (Mumbai) was nominated as a finalist in the Leadership in Sustainable Design and Performance Award category, which recognizes pioneering green building projects that deliver a range of benefits through a holistic approach to sustainability. A webinar on this building can be found here. Read more

The annual report by GlobalABC highlights that the building sector is far from being on track for decarbonisation, notwithstanding the effects of COVID-19. However, it is possible to achieve net-zero by 2050 using existing technologies with bold action, policy and investments. Achieving net-zero for buildings can yield multiple benefits including economic growth. Read more

Emissions from the operation of buildings hit their highest-ever level in 2019, moving the sector further away from fulfilling its huge potential to slow climate change and contribute significantly to the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to a UN Report. This increase was due to a shift away from the direct use of coal, oil and traditional biomass towards electricity, which had a higher carbon content due to the high proportion of fossil fuels used in generation. To get on track to net-zero carbon building stock by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that direct building CO₂ emissions need, by 2030, to fall by 50% and indirect building sector emissions by 60%. To achieve this, all actors across the buildings value chain need to increase decarbonization actions and their impact by a factor of five. Read more