Ouch! I cried when my father rapped me on my knuckles. This was my punishment for having left the lights on in my room and running out to meet friends. He used to be annoyed with us at our callousness when we were kids and used to ask us ‘Why does an empty room need lights?’
This and other measures of prudence in the use of resources like water, electricity and food was the foundation of my journey towards developing sustainable living concepts which has eventually morphed into me becoming an ardent climate change evangelist with Al Gore’s Climate Leadership Project.
As we battle extreme weather conditions caused by climate change as a result of emissions from burning fossil fuels, the focus of the world is to move away from burning coal, oil and gas to renewable energy sources. Billions are being invested in developing technologies and changing mindsets.
Concerned citizens are rushing to disconnect from the polluting energy grid and installing solar panels on their roof tops. The biggest polluters like China have announced plans to stop new coal fired power plants, promising to switch to renewable energy.
Nearly 700 leaders gathered in Washington, D.C. to kick off Climate Action 2016 this month, seeking to accelerate global action on climate change, and 175 governments made history by signing the Paris Agreement in November 2015.
In all this frenzy of well intentioned activity, one basic fact is not getting as much attention as it deserves – stopping energy wastage, like my father did. Using different energy sources can only go so far, considering the damage done until now. But there is an opportunity to stop the wastage of energy in our homes and office. And this can happen now, and does not depend on expensive switches to other sources of energy involving massive capital expenditures.
It is a known fact that cities consume more energy. The Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions (CCES) estimates that residential and commercial buildings account for 39% of total US energy consumption and 38% of US CO2 emissions.
Reductions in building-related green house gas emissions can be achieved in many different ways: by increasing the amount of electricity generated from zero-carbon technologies, by retrofitting existing buildings to reduce energy consumption and most importantly, improve energy efficiency in existing buildings.
But first, it is good to understand the how energy efficient your building is. The CCES identified four factors. The first is embodied energy – how much energy is already embodied in your building. In other words, how much energy was spent to build it – did you get Italian marble from thousands of miles away or use locally made clay tiles?
The second is the design of your building. Does it allow for natural light and air to pass through? The third is building envelope – the interface between the interior of the building and the exterior. Is your building exterior clad with glass and thereby heating the building to an extent where you have to use more electricity to cool the building? And the last point is on-site generation, which refers to energy produced at the building – diesel generators or solar panels.
“Cities that lead on climate, lead on buildings,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in April 2016, as he outlined new initiatives that aim to dramatically reduce emissions from New York City’s over one million buildings. In total, the measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will result in a reduction of 2.7 million metric tons by 2050, the equivalent of taking 560,000 cars off the road.
It is time to make a difference to the planet by focusing on the buildings in our cities, by reducing consumption of energy. As I rub my once bruised knuckles, I can see my father’s hopes being fulfilled, that our cities can put a smile back on our planet.
The writer is an author, speaker, trainer, consultant, an entrepreneur and an expert in applied sustainability. Visit: www.CBRamkumar.com.
