Potentials and Constraints for Adopting Campus Carbon Neutrality Strategies in Indian Higher Educational Institutions

Abstract

India has one of the largest number of higher education systems in the world next to China and the US. With an increase in demand for higher education in recent years, Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are required to manage more students than they can afford, demanding more energy/other vital resources such as water and predominantly, more fossil fuels, exerting more pressure on the campus ecosystems, contributing more to the emission of green house gases (GHGs). This fact is never duly recognized, neither at the level of the concerned campus nor at state/national policy levels. However, the breadth and depth of climate change issues/problems/concerns have prompted greater international interest/commitment in the need for campus sustainability through Campus Carbon Neutrality (CCN). To become carbon neutral, universities in the developed world are striving to reduce their emissions of GHGs, cut their use of energy, use more renewable energy, and emphasize the importance of sustainable energy sources. Our insights/experiences have indicated several key barriers and major strategies which could be adopted for CCN in India and which are discussed in this chapter.