Keeping India Cool Sustainably

How India can meet rising cooling needs without overwhelming the grid or the climate, and a recap of the module.

Cooling is becoming a basic need in a warming India. Meeting it sustainably requires action on many fronts.

A cooling strategy

Reduce heat: trees, cool roofs, better building design.
Efficient equipment: star-rated ACs, BLDC fans, coolers.
Clean electricity: solar and storage to meet peaks.
Better refrigerants: phasing down HFCs.
Smart operation: default 24-degree settings, time-of-day tariffs.
Protect the vulnerable: heat action plans, cooling for schools and informal workers.

Economics

Many cooling measures are cost-effective, paying back through lower bills and better health.
Externalities like emissions and urban heat justify policy action.
Inequality means markets alone won’t deliver cooling for all.

Module recap

India’s cooling demand is set to soar with incomes and heat.
The India Cooling Action Plan (2019) set goals to cut cooling demand and energy.
AC manufacturing is growing with PLI support.
The Kigali Amendment phases down HFCs.
Cooling drives record electricity peaks.
Heat action plans, district cooling, cool cities and efficient fans help.
Heat affects learning and hits the poor hardest.

The cool city plan

A city combines tree planting, cool roofs for low-income homes, efficient fans in schools and time-of-day tariffs. Summer peaks grow more slowly, and heat deaths fall.

Thinking cooling and climate goals are incompatible

Efficiency, design, clean power and better refrigerants can make cooling sustainable.

Key takeaways

Sustainable cooling combines heat reduction, efficiency, clean power and better refrigerants.
Many measures are cost-effective.
Policy is needed for externalities and equity.
Protecting the vulnerable is central to cooling for all.