BWI: TERI Participates at the World Future Energy Summit, 18–21 January 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Friday, January 22, 2010 08:42 PM IST (03:12 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy, Environment; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Agriculture, Construction, Energy companies, Media & entertainment, Real estate
--------------------------------------------------
TERI Participates at the World Future Energy Summit, 18-21 January 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Friday, January 22, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) hosted a conclave titled 'Climate change mitigation: Building energy initiatives,' to identify future areas of research and policy development in the buildings sector in the UAE. This discussion was hosted in association with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, Ramboll and Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training (CERT), UAE.

It is widely recognized that buildings are responsible for substantial quantities of total energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions globally. The building sector can contribute to mitigating impacts of climate change by delivering significant greenhouse gas emission reductions; and energy, resource, and cost savings through action oriented policy initiatives.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) with its expertise in the area of green buildings developed and operationalized India's national rating system for green buildings - 'GRIHA' and, participated in the World Future Energy Summit, 18-21 January 2010 being held in the UAE.

Dr. R.K.Pachauri, Director General TERI, encouraged institutes in the UAE and India to usher partnerships and work together to address the issue of green house gas emissions from the buildings sector. Dr. Tayeb Kamali, Group CEO, CERT, and Vice-Chancellor, HCT highlighted activities being undertaken at Higher Colleges of Technology in this field and hoped that initiatives on energy and green building retrofits towards a common framework are undertaken as a result of the conclave. HE Mr. Talmiz Ahmed, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, said that the issue of energy security offers a huge scope of co-operation between India and the UAE, which requires working together of the financial, technological and human resources.

HE Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, expressed the need for technological developments and co-operation between nations for India to meet the ambitious target of installing 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022. Mr. Deepak Gupta, Secretary MNRE, also emphasized the potential of joint initiatives to minimize emissions from the buildings sector.

Mr. Peyman Mohajer, Managing Director Ramboll, mentioned that energy efficiency in new buildings is being addressed through various green buildings rating systems; however this new building stock is outnumbered by the existing building stock that needs attention. He announced a contribution of 300,000 AED towards research on existing buildings by Ramboll.

Moderated round table discussions and sessions at the forum provided an opportunity to exchange information on the ongoing initiatives and good practices from India and the UAE while also providing a platform to identify a future roadmap in this direction.

Sessions were based on the following themes:

-- Transforming the existing for future - In addition to energy-efficient new construction, existing building stock also has a vast potential of reducing carbon emissions. Retrofitting and energy management in existing buildings are fast and financially feasible strategies towards reducing emissions from the building sector. TERI, Ramboll and CERT identified future research opportunities and aim to mobilise local resources to analyse the existing building stock in the UAE so as to minimize the detrimental impacts on the environment. Ramboll also announced a fund of 300,000 AED towards research on existing buildings.

-- Climate change and built environment: National initiatives- This session showcased national initiatives to combat climate change and highlight the actions taken by India and the UAE at their national levels. It highlighted India's Solar Energy Mission and the Mission on Sustainable Habitats of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) of India. Other initiatives such as the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) and of initiatives by the Government of UAE were also highlighted.

This conclave brought together important stakeholders from national and international arenas to a common platform, facilitating interaction and dialogue on green building initiatives for existing buildings and policy frameworks to facilitate better understanding and usher in partnerships.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Meena Janardhan, TERI Gulf Centre (meejana@gmail.com)
Ms. Priyanka Kochhar, TERI, Delhi (priyanka@teri.res.in)



CONTACT DETAILS
Rajiv Chhibber, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), +919810426698, rajivc@teri.res.in

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT, MARKETING, AGRICULTURE, CONSTRUCTION, ENERGY, MEDIA, REAL ESTATE

If you wish to change your Business Wire India selection please click on this link http://www.businesswireindia.com/media/news.asp and use your personal username and password to login.

Submit your press release at http://www.businesswireindia.com