Low carbon strategies for residential sector, New Delhi

Abstract

One of the most worrying threats to our planet at present is global warming. The main cause of global warming are the greenhouse gases which block the heat received from the sun and don’t allow it to escape from the atmosphere. IPCC suggests that the global surface temperature is likely to increase by 1.1 to 6.4 degree Celsius between 1990 and 2100. India is one of the top five carbon emitting countries with 6.96% contribution in the global carbon emissions. The contribution of the residential sector is about 7% which is increasing at a rate of 1.7% per year. The thesis is to understand the carbon emission profile of the residential sector of Delhi for which three study areas are delineated on the basis of their economic profile (low income group, medium income group and high-income group) and analysis is done to know how the emissions change according to the income groups. The residential areas are selected based on the circle rate of the city Delhi by the Delhi Municipal Corporation. The selected areas are Ambedkar Nagar (low-income group), Mayur Vihar Phase I (Medium income group) and Vasant Vihar (High income group). The residential sector contributes to carbon emissions through various activities. For the study, the parameters for calculating carbon emissions have been decided with the help of various case studies from India and abroad. The parameters selected are the ones that are best suited for the Indian scenario. The parameters chosen for analysis are electricity consumption, fuel used for cooking, fuel used for mobility and the solid waste generation. A primary sample household survey has been carried out based on the selected parameters to understand the variation in the emission profile. The carbon emissions are then calculated using the IPCC method provided by the UNFCCC. An emission factor is provided by different governmental organisations for all the activities, which is multiplied by the data collected for the different parameters and the total carbon emissions are calculated. The emissions are calculated for the whole residential area as well as for a single household in a residential area for better comparative analysis. After the analysis, we find that out of all the parameters the emission due to electricity consumption forms the major source of emissions. The high-income group residential area is the highest carbon emitting area when it comesiii to electricity consumption and the fuel used for mobility. The middle-income group has the highest carbon emission contribution in the case of solid waste generation. The carbon emissions from the cooking fuel used are maximum from the low-income group as unlike the other areas it has no provision of PNG and the residing people are dependent on LPG cylinders which has high emission factor. This part of the study also establishes a link between the lifestyle of the people and their respective carbon footprint. The carbon footprint per household is highest for the high-income group and lowest for the low-income group. The estimations made are used to know the major sources of carbon emissions in the different areas and the possible methods to reduce them. The proposals are provided for electricity, cooking fuel consumption and solid waste generation. Installation of solar panels would help to generate electricity reducing the load on existing electricity grid and reducing emissions. The switching over to a cleaner fuel from LPG for cooking reduces the emissions. The organic waste generated can be collected and used for composting reducing the carbon emissions from the households.