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The overwhelming effects of climate change on the living environments has prompted several countries, including India into rolling out different carbon neutrality agenda. On this background, this study activated policy framework towards the attainment of India's 2070 net-zero emission target via energy efficiency. The roles of green-technology, affluence and population were also rectified. With quarterly series spanning 1997Q1–2021Q4 and estimates of the novel wavelet quantile correlation technique, the following insights sufficed. Energy-intensity generated significant carbon de-escalation effects mainly in the medium and long term. There were evidence of long-term asymmetric effects between them. Carbon intensity as well as green technology aggravated carbon emissions in both short and medium term, however, over the long term, they generated carbon neutrality effects. The empirical estimates also validated the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) ideology given the long-term environmental quality enhancing attributes of GDP. India's population represents a major challenge for the net-zero emission target. But this can be curtailed through adequate orientations as prescribed in the LiFE progrmme. Among other considerations, India's net-zero target is realisable if the country extends its low-carbon energy profiles and deploy more green technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green buildings (GB) show performance gaps despite a plethora of materials, technologies and stringent certification systems. India is predicted to shape the global energy demand shortly; hence, its recent GB mandate of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) will contribute significantly to the global Agenda 2030. However, its success depends on a holistic relook beyond the myopic design approach focused on energy efficiency. Therefore, a multi-criteria decision support system (DSS) based on the Best-Worst method was developed. It integrates ECBC and BIM-based energy simulation while facilitating maintainability performance prediction in the early phase of design of the GB envelope. The top five options out of 72 common envelope combinations for wall, fenestration and roof materials were chosen for energy performance. The DSS is flexible to accumulate other decision-making criteria as per project-specific requirements. Its efficacy was analysed with a GB located in a warm-humid climatic zone of India. Here, the material availability criterion was also added. The framework provides probing insights and facilitates decision-makers to act appropriately in the early design phase to ensure efficient performance in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacity-building is acknowledged as an essential requirement for addressing environmental and developmental challenges in developing countries. In particular, the capacity to manage technological change is an important prerequisite for climate change mitigation, adaptation and green growth. Despite the importance of such capacity, there are surprisingly few empirical accounts unpacking its different dimensions and exploring how it might be built in developing countries in the context of climate and sustainable development challenges. In this paper, we contribute to this sparse literature through an in-depth qualitative case study on energy efficiency in India. Specifically, we take a systemic and evolutionary perspective to investigate how the Bureau of Energy Efficiency developed and implemented its programs to promote energy efficiency in household appliances, light-emitting-diode lamps and energy-intensive industries – and how in doing so, both drew upon existing capacity within and outside the country, and also built new capacity, to achieve significant energy savings. Key policy insights Since the capacity to manage technological change is distributed among a range of actors, policymakers require the ability to understand capacity needs from multiple actors' perspectives. Policymakers need to respond to evolving capacity needs over the course of a program – from strategic program design, trust-building and resource mobilization in early stages, to administration in later stages. 'System operators/integrators' can play a crucial role during the early stages of a program by helping develop capacity and sustaining it by creating a demand for such capacity, as well as bringing together actors, enabling coordination, and building coalitions among them. Preliminary analysis suggests that the Bureau of Energy Efficiency programs investigated in this paper resulted in significant energy savings and CO2 emission reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User-centric, localized energy and comfort management solutions that are essential in commercial buildings are realized by IoT enabled building management systems, involving networked sensors and artificial intelligence-based data processing. This paper employs the Delphi method to identify the major issues concerning IoT adoption in India and examines these across the value chain, specific to energy and comfort management in intelligent buildings. The Delphi exercise involved 3 expert-panels, consisting of a total of 24 subject matter experts representing all important stakeholders across the intelligent building value chain. A total of 140 issues have been identified, grouped across 8 themes, and ranked, leading to the development of an 'IoT adoption index'. A subset of the issues has been identified using two inputs from the literature, viz., key performance indicators of intelligent buildings and the business model canvas. The results can be practically used by the stakeholders while evaluating IoT systems for deployment in their projects. Further, the results should be useful in the context of intelligent buildings also in other emerging economies having similar climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]