My Key Learnings from the ICAP Development Process

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Maybe not. 

As large swathes of India reels under yet another heatwave (amidst several other difficulties), the relevance of a national cooling action plan comes to the fore as a key mediator between economic maximisation and the realisation of many Sustainable Development Goals 2030, especially SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth). 

I am reminded of my own experiences in supporting the development of the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) (2019) and would like to use the benefit of hindsight to share with you my key learnings from then: 

THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS

The ICAP is more than the sum of its parts in at least 4 ways.

(i) It takes stock of the current (2017-18) situation of many important cooling consumption sectors (i.e. space cooling in buildings, cold-chain & refrigeration, and transport air-conditioning) and associated sectors (HVAC & refrigerant-related servicing, indigenous refrigerant production, and R&D), and where they might be in the next 2 decades at different intervention levels. This can afford a bird's-eye view of India's cooling landscape and help identify high-impact areas of intervention with multiple socio-economic benefits. 

(ii) It offers a multidimensional approach to climate-friendly cooling in the medium to long term: potential solutions of different types i.e. policy instruments, technological increments, market mechanisms, integrated R&D, etc., across equipment and building energy efficiency, refrigerant management, improved O&M and servicing, etc. Harmonising energy efficiency with refrigerant transition pathways is a recurrent theme of the ICAP.

(iii) The ICAP has been developed within the motivation framework of international commitments of the Paris Agreement (2015), the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol (2016), and SDG 2030. Internally, it synergises with ongoing government policies and programmes (like the PMAY, Smart Cities Mission, Doubling Farmers' Income, Skill India Mission, etc.) from a new perspective, i.e. cooling, so that it has a better chance of achieving its goals. 

(iv) Whilst being anchored in the Ozone Cell of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government fo India, the ICAP was developed using a consultative and iterative process in a multi-stakeholder framework that saw active participation from the public sector (sarkaar), the private sector (bazar), and the civil society (samaaj). A high-level inter-ministerial steering committee helped bring about cross-sectoral integration and synthesis to deliver a cohesive plan. 

WELL BEGUN IS HALF DONE

The ICAP recommendations and priority areas are founded on an extensive data-driven assessment - "best estimates arrived at in the limited time available for setting out a plan of action" - that uses the best available information/data sourced from government publications (where available), industry surveys & reports, and research publications. The ICAP acknowledges the paucity of data in some cases, where informed assumptions vetted by sector experts have been used. 

The numerical outcomes of the ICAP can help provide directional guidance to the future of cooling in India, besides starting a dialogue on previously absent numbers; the ICAP is a "living document" open to revision as and when more rigorous estimates emerge. 

LOOK FURTHER THAN YOU CAN SEE

The ICAP charts the (suggested) future pathway for each of the cooling consumption sectors and the associated sectors, in steps of short (2022-23), medium (2027-28) and long-term (2037-38) recommendations. However, the short and medium-term recommendations should be followed whilst focussing on the savings potential at the end of the full timeframe (2 decades) of the ICAP. For example, the energy savings potential from the wider adoption of more energy-efficient room air conditioners (i.e. heightened intervention over and above business-as-usual) is (only) 1% at the end of the short-term, 13% at the end of the medium-term, but 32% (!) at the end of the long-term. This elucidates the importance of a forward-looking, ambitious, long-term, robust, and persistently monitored sustainable cooling policy.

These were my top lessons learnt from the ICAP development process. The proof of the pudding is in the eating - and I am excited to see how cooling unfolds in India's development story.