Assam CM inaugurates GRIHA Summit 2014 in Delhi
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Guwahati: Inaugurating the three-day Griha Summit 2014 in New Delhi, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that climate change is becoming complex and challenging with each passing day and that concerted efforts from both the private and public sectors and other stakeholders are a must to minimise the impacts of climate changes.
He also expressed concerns at the flood and erosion taken place in the state. “The impacts of climate change is felt everywhere. Assam is no exception. Vast tracts of land have been eroded due to floods and erosion. About 4 lakh hectare of land had been already gobbled up. We have to take up the problems seriously and to confront the challenges posed by floods and erosion,” said Gogoi at the inaugural session of the 5th Griha Summit at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on Thursday.
Assam CM Tarun Gogoi (Left) and Director General, TERI, Dr. R.K. Pachauri (2nd from Right) inaugurate the summit in New Delhi.
“We have to deal with the problems cropping up due to climate changes. It augurs well that people are becoming aware of the impacts of climate change, especially the young generation who are concerned about the future,” he said.
Gogoi underscored the need for making use of new and renewable energy judiciously for ensuring sustainable development. “We have abundant energy resources as well as natural resources. We have to harness them properly and make use of the resources judiciously for ensuring sustainable development,” he said.
Chief Minister stressed on the need to ensure easy availability of cost effective materials to replace the conventional ones that are on the depletion for mainstreaming green and resource efficient construction. “We have to find eco-friendly and cost-effective materials for construction of buildings, roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Knowledge is the key for invention of new technologies that are cost-effective and environment-friendly to mitigate the impacts of climate change,” he added.
Lauding the efforts of The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) in envisioning the GRIHA concept to achieve sustainable habitats, Gogoi said, “Our Government has entered into an agreement with TERI to promote the Green Building Concept in Assam through sustainable building materials,” he said.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Director General, TERI, Dr. R.K. Pachauri emphasised on the need to adopt sustainable habitats in view of the rapid urbanisation to cut down on energy and water consumption. “We have to promote habitats which make use of resources efficiently and at the same time ensure comfort for the occupants at all times,” he said, adding. “In order to achieve this, we need to work collectively on demand optimization of water and electricity.”
Pachauri expressed his concern over the impacts of climate change and the need to mitigate the adverse effects collectively. “The rise in temperature over the past three decades due to carbon emissions is a matter of concern. We have to reduce the urban heat island effect through sustainable habitats by cutting down on energy consumption and planting trees and roof gardens,” he added.
The TERI Director General stressed on the need to use new and renewable energy to minimise the impacts of climate change. “Wind, solar and bio-mass that are eco-friendly energy sources needed to be harnessed and made use of in a viable manner,” he said.
Dwelling at length on the GRIHA concept evolved by TERI and Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitats (ADaRSH), Pachauri revealed that an estimated 10 million square metres of GRIHA 5-Star certified projects could save enough electricity to power about 100,000 urban homes, enough water to meet the requirements of 22,000 urban homes and facilitate installation of 6 Mega Watts of renewable energy.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Satish Balram Agnihotri underscored the need for reducing energy consumption by bringing in legislation. “We cannot afford to be energy guzzlers. In the houses of the rich and affluent the consumption of more electricity has come to be associated with status symbol. This has to go by bringing in effective legislation making it mandatory to trim down power consumption and thus saving energy to light up more homes.”