Context

• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on eve of World Ozone Day (16^th September) released draft India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP).
• It makes India first country in world to develop such a document.

About

• The draft prepared by Ozone Cell of MoEFC, aims to provide sustainable cooling while keeping in mind the need to protect the ozone layer from substances that can deplete it.
• It provides a 20- year perspective, with projections for cooling needs in 2037-38.
• ICAP addresses cooling requirement across sectors and lists out actions which can help reduce cooling demand.
• Its thrust is to look for synergies in actions for securing both environmental and socio-economic benefits.
• ICAP’s overarching goal is to provide sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all while securing environmental and socio-economic benefits for the society.

Goals suggested in ICAP:

1. Reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by year 2037-38.
2. Reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25 % by year 2037- 38.
3. Reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by year 2037-38.
4. Train and certify 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23, in synergy with Skill India Mission.
5. Recognize cooling and related areas as thrust area of research under national science and technology programme to support development of technological solutions and encourage innovation challenges.

Objectives of ICAP:

1. Assessment of cooling requirements across sectors in next 20 years and the associated refrigerant demand and energy use.
2. Map the technologies available to cater the cooling requirement including passive interventions, refrigerant-based technologies and alternative technologies such as not-in-kind technologies.
3. Suggest interventions in each sector to provide for sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all.
4. Focus on skilling of refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) servicetechnicians.
5. Develop R&D innovation ecosystem for indigenous development of alternative technologies.