NRDC

Cooling and
Energy Efficiency

With rising temperatures and rapid urbanization, the need for cooling is growing in Indian cities. To help meet these challenges, NRDC India is advising stakeholders on optimizing refrigerant transitions in cooling equipment and strengthening appliance efficiency. NRDC India also provides expertise on passive cooling solutions such as cool roofs and better building design.

Makeup of India’s Cooling Demand (2038)

Opportunity for Countries to Avoid Emissions through More Efficient Cooling (MtCO2) in 2050

India has a long record of leadership under the Montreal Protocol - from their indispensable role in the negotiations that formed the Montreal Protocol in 1987 to, forging a path forward on the Kigali Amendment in 2016. Since then, the Indian government has been an outspoken champion of enhancing energy efficiency in cooling, alongside the HFC phasedown. In 2019, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change published a first-of-its-kind guiding document called the ‘India Cooling Action Plan’, which set several ambitious targets, including reducing refrigerant and cooling demand by about one-quarter in 2038.

Cooling & Efficiency Strategies

Conduct new analyses on HFC-phase down pathways for India, basis specific requests from stakeholders, to support India’s implementation of the Kigali Amendment & ICAP.

Advise organizations on building the business case for energy-efficient air conditioners through engagement with stakeholders and industry.

Advise stakeholders on evaluating the impacts of building energy code compliance and cool roofs implementation by analyzing energy savings and co-benefits to equitable public health and environment.

Energy Efficiency Publications

Addressing Rising Demand For Cooling in India with Cool Roofs

Fact Sheet | November, 2022

Cooling with Less Warming: Scenarios for Phasing Down Hydrofluorocarbons in India

Fact sheet | August, 2022

India and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol

Fact sheet | July, 2021

Cool Roofs

Fact Sheet | May, 2020

Prior to 2023, Indian experts worked as consultants with NRDC, and their work was thus hosted on NRDC’s website

Our Experts

Gerry George

Specialist, Cooling and Energy Efficiency

Gerry George has over six years of experience working as a climate change and energy policy professional. Before joining NRDC, he worked with Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, focusing on high-impact climate action areas such as comfort cooling in buildings, energy efficiency of household appliances, and sustainable cold-chain in developing countries. His work includes leveraging a 360° view of the triple sector (i.e., public, private, and knowledge sectors) to drive evidence-based sustainable energy policymaking and its implementation. Gerry contributed significantly to the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India's India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) 2019 and leveraged the Indian experience to formulate the National Cooling Action Plan methodology which is being piloted globally in countries such as in Cambodia and Indonesia.