India’s soaring concrete skyline is a carbon emissions blindspot
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The spectre of climate change is upon us and its manifestations are there for all to see.
The public debate about climate change tends to focus on its more visible effects for adaptive (and not preventive) measures: increased frequency and intensity of heat waves, urban flooding and air pollution. However, many of the embedded sources of environmental harm remain unacknowledged. As a rapidly urbanising country, one such source that India can no longer ignore is carbon emissions emerging from its growing built environment.
Every building carries a carbon cost that far outlasts those who built it. Globally, the built environment accounts for nearly 34% of annual CO₂ emissions, the single largest share of any sector. In India, the buildings sector contributes a substantial and growing share of national greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, the dominant discourse tends to focus mostly on “operational carbon” – the emissions from running a building, with the discussion confined to energy efficiency. What tends to be ignored is “embodied carbon” – the carbon emitted in the making of a building, from the extraction and production of materials to their transportation and construction on site.
Once a building is completed, its embodied carbon is locked in and cannot be reversed or reduced.
Since India is slated to add over 50...