Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment—A green-building rating system for catalysing climate-change mitigation/adaptation in India

Abstract

Green-building rating systems (GBRSs) are critical for implementing climate change (CC) mitigation strategies because they can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the building sector. From the Indian policy perspective, the ClimateSMART Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) provides cities a roadmap toward mitigating CC while planning/implementing their actions and facilitates realising energy efficiency and green buildings through GBRS adoption and incentivisation. Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is a comprehensive GBRS aligned with CSCAF and India’s climate goals, facilitating the implementation of Government of India’s relevant policies and climate-adaptation measures within a building project’s different phases. This paper examines existing institutional mechanisms for incentivising GRIHA-rated projects and provides recommendations for municipal bodies, regional developmental authorities, and state governments for strengthening resource efficiency in the built environment through GRIHA. Residential buildings are considered because their contribution to GHG emissions is the greatest among buildings. Data were collected through literature review, reviewing smart-city proposals and latest state annual action plans, Right to Information queries, and structured interviews of stakeholders. Feedback from green-building certification agencies, project proponents, and government officials revealed a need for local-level information dissemination and guidance on institutional mechanisms for incentivising green-rated projects. Further, to understand the implementation mechanisms for GRIHA-linked incentives, residential projects under some local-government agencies were documented as case studies, providing useful insights into prevalent mechanisms for availing incentives while facilitating GRIHA compliance. The information provided herein can be useful for local governments in other developing countries for guiding the building sector toward mitigating climate change.