Swiss agency offers technical support on climate change

India and Switzerland need to enhance their partnership and strengthen ties on issues of climate change, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation's assistant director general Pio Wennubst said offering technical support to projects on green initiative here.
"Activities related to climate change are running here and we give technical support to them. This should continue. You need us and we need you.
"When we go global, we need to go together," Wennubst, who was in the city to visit one of the projects under Indo-Swiss Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) - Aranya Bhawan, said.
In his address to the team members associated with the building project, he said that Aranya Bhawan, the new building of the state forest department inaugurated in March this year, presents a fine example of transformation in terms of energy efficiency.

"Changes come from big crisis and it is the first time when you look at the reality," he said, while pointing out towards the need in the present time to adopt practices that saves energy and enhances capacity in order to mitigate climate change.
Located in Jhalana Institutional area, the Aranya Bhawan building project was implemented by Rajasthan State Road Development and Construction Corporation Ltd (RSRDC) implemented with the Swiss Development Corporation providing technical assistance to make it energy efficient.

The building saves 32 per cent energy with an increase of just two per cent in the initial cost.
The two per cent increase in the cost is recoverable in three years by saving in energy consumption, Wennubst, head of directorate of Global Cooperation- SDC, told reporters after the programme.

SDC Counsellor and Director of Cooperation Daniel Ziegerer on the occassion said that development of a new type of low carbon cement is one of the other activities SDC has undertaken in India.
The low carbon cement is a blend of rushed limestone, calcined clay and clinker.
Besides these, SDC is also working for accelerating the use of biomass for clean energy services, scaling up of energy efficient technologies in small enterprises.
Secretary, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Sanjay Seth suggested the officials from the state government to design and construct buildings on this concept and make it a standard practice.

Seth informed that the Bureau was also working with the Public Works Department of the state government and suggesting them to make buildings thermally comfortable.