There is a discernable shift towards high performance buildings in India. State and city municipalities are prescribing green buildings norms for buildings. This is an encouraging sign for the future trajectory of the building sector.

I am pleased to see the close collaboration between USAID and the Bureau of Energy on this important initiative.  Wherever possible, USAID has sought innovative initiatives that align with institutional and policy frameworks in India.  A typical energy code update process is based on incremental change. Our approach is to link the ECBC to a Net Zero Energy target and gradually increase the stringency to reach that target. As a step towards that direction, we have specified the next two levels of stringency in the updated code document that is going to be presented later today at this workshop.

USAID is also supporting two NZEB pilots. These include the Nalanda University in Bihar and UHBVN Headquarter in Haryana. As you know, Nalanda is known for being one of the world’s oldest centers for learning. USAID is supporting the University to build a modern net zero energy campus while keeping its illustrious legacy intact. We helped the University to redesign standard government procurement and tendering process to enable integration of sustainable technologies and building design strategies in these two pilots. The revised procurement processes have now been referred to in procurement processes of several government projects that desire ECBC compliance. We are also working with the design teams to integrate cutting edge energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies such as downdraft cooling towers and biomass generators in the pilot projects. These pilots will lead to nearly 30 MW reduction in power supplied through the grid and produced by conventional sources. But most importantly, the pilots provide an opportunity to engage stakeholders across the building value chain and disseminate information about tools, technologies, costs, performance, and measurement and verification data over a period of time.

In partnership with BEE and other agencies of the Government of India, we will continue to work with the building industry and building sustainability experts in laying a strong foundation for the uptake of ECBC, energy efficiency in HVAC systems, and net zero energy buildings in India. I am confident this partnership will help identify practical solutions to conserve energy and scale up the deployment of such technologies.

I would particularly like to thank the Ministry of Power and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency for their proactive approach and vision for a sustainable built environment in India. Energy efficiency champions such as Mr. Pradeep Kumar Pujari, Mr. Raj Pal, and Mr. Sanjay Seth are paving the way for innovative interventions both at the policy and on the ground implementation level. The various measures initiated by the Ministry and BEE have yielded tangible results in the field of energy efficiency and also contributed significantly in achieving the Government’s vision of 24X7 power to all.

I would also like to thank Ambassador Addleton for his support and guidance. Managing and mitigating climate change risk is something very close to his heart.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the PACE-D TA Program – Dinesh Babu, Bhaskar Natrajan, Tanmay Tathagat, and several others who are working passionately on a range of interventions to make a difference in the building sector. From making people aware of the basic concept of NZEBs to assessing the market for HVAC technologies in India, I know it has been a long exciting journey for you. Thank you for your efforts.

Stakeholders across the entire value chain have a key role in ensuring India’s transition to a dynamic net zero energy building sector. Whether you are a policy maker, an architect, a home owner or a home appliance manufacture, each one of you is a participant as well as a catalyst in the sustainable built environment movement.