A day after the G-8 communique on climate change, chairman of the Inter-Government Panel on Climate Change Dr R K Pachauri said that India needs to start constructing energy efficient buildings.Instead of innumerable diesel-guzzling shopping malls, Pachauri said that India should come up with a plan of action to ensure that buildings are energy efficient. ‘‘We need certain guildelines for builders to use energy efficiently. design should be in terms of energy efficiency,’’ he said at a press conference. He added that there is a need to senstise architects also.The Gleneagles communique talks about inviting the International Energy Agency to review existing building standards and codes in developing and developed countries, develop energy indicators to assess efficiency and identify best practices. The communique mentions the need for developing domestic guidelines for management of public buildings in respective countries.Pachauri added that India needed to come up with a plan of action on climate change, including energy saving buildings and clean fuels, as soon as possible.Under the Kyoto protocol, countries like India do not have any any commitments till 2012.Meanwhile, Pachauri, who is just back from a meeting in Amsterdam of the ongoing fourth assessment report on climate change, said that the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) welcomed the Gleneagles communique on climate change and said that it was the first time the ‘‘science of climate change’’ has been supported at such a high level.
