Walk through any Indian city today and the signs of stress are hard to miss. Summers are stretching longer, flooding has become routine, and every year headlines remind us how unprepared our systems are for the scale of climate risk we face.
What makes this more worrying is that our cities are also at the heart of India’s growth. By 2031, nearly 600 million people are expected to live in urban areas, up from about 377 million in 2011. Looking further ahead, by 2050 India’s urban population could reach nearly 900 million, accounting for more than 50% of the total population. That scale of growth is unprecedented, and it puts enormous pressure on infrastructure.
But the pressure is not only about numbers. Climate risks are intensifying. Flooding and extreme heat are already the two greatest threats to India’s urban future. Between 1985 and 2015, built-up areas in high flood-risk zones grew by more than 100%, and by 2070, the number of Indians exposed to a 1-in-100-year flood could quadruple.
At the same time, rising temperatures are pushing cities into dangerous territory. Exposure to extreme heat in India’s ten largest cities has increased by 71% over the past three decades. By 2050, one-fifth of annual working hours in cities like Chennai, Lucknow and Surat could fall under high heat stress conditions.
In short, without serious course correction, our cities risk becoming hotspots of both vulnerability and lost opportunity. By 2050, energy use and CO₂ emissions from urban housing could increase 2.4 times, and by 2070, more than four times if current trends continue. Climate resilience is no longer just a sustainability goal. It is tied directly to how competitive and liveable our cities will be in the coming decades.
Why Buildings Cannot Be Left Out
Buildings are where urban life actually unfolds, where people live, work, shop, and learn. They also are responsible for close to 32% of India’s greenhouse gas emissions. This comes not only from energy used in operations but also from the cement, steel, and glass that lock in carbon long before a building is occupied.
Further, some analysts project that 70% of the infrastructure India will need by 2047 is yet to be built. That gives us a chance to make smarter choices for new projects. But focusing only on new construction misses the point. The stock of buildings that already exists, from office towers to residential complexes, is where the immediate opportunity lies. Unless these assets are upgraded, they will remain carbon-intensive and highly fragile to climate shocks such as flooding and heatwaves.
For instance, retrofitting existing housing with rooftop solar could cut energy use by 64% in major cities. The incremental cost of such retrofits is modest, around 3% of construction cost, or about $150 per person. For new housing, integrating green design features such as efficient glazing, insulation, and solar can be done for as little as $50 per person, which at scale translates to about $66 billion per decade. Beyond carbon, such measures also reduce load on stressed urban infrastructure by lowering cooling demand and improving resilience to water and power shortages during heat events.
Retrofitting may not be glamorous, but it is the single most practical lever for India to meet its 2030 and 2070 targets and to climate-proof its cities in the process.
Decarbonisation Without Breaking Budgets
Decarbonising existing buildings can feel like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to break budgets. The Guide to Strategic Decarbonization Planning developed by USGBC, ASHRAE and NYSERDA makes one thing clear: the smartest approach is to fold climate action into the normal business rhythm of real-estate and facility planning.
The starting point is straightforward: know where you stand today. Establishing a baseline of a building’s current energy-related emissions and projecting what they will look like under a business-as-usual scenario makes the cost of inaction visible. Rising utility bills, higher maintenance costs and potential regulatory penalties are all part of that picture.
From there, the real work is about smart sequencing. Instead of treating decarbonisation as an extra cost line, owners can align upgrades with natural “trigger events” in the life cycle of a building.
If a chiller or boiler is due for replacement, that becomes the moment to install an efficient, low-carbon system. If the façade is scheduled for refurbishment, it’s the right time to add insulation or shading that reduces cooling loads. By tying upgrades to normal capital expenditure cycles, climate action becomes financially manageable.
Energy efficiency remains the foundation. Lowering demand through better insulation, lighting and equipment not only cuts emissions immediately but also reduces the size and cost of any future electrification. In some cases, hybrid approaches may be the most practical, such as keeping a fuel-based backup for extreme conditions while shifting most operations to clean electricity.
The insight is simple: deep decarbonisation is not about spending more, it is about spending smarter. By aligning climate goals with existing investment cycles, buildings can cut carbon, strengthen resilience and protect long-term value without straining budgets.
What LEED v5 Brings to the Table
This is also where certification systems such as LEED v5 matter. The newest version has been designed with today’s challenges in mind, and it makes resilience and decarbonisation non-negotiable.
Every project under LEED v5 must now carry out a Climate Resilience Assessment. This is not a box-ticking exercise. It forces teams to examine local hazards, from heatwaves to floods and water stress, and plan accordingly. The system also introduces new credits like the Resilience Pathway and Operational Planning for Resilience. These are about continuity, ensuring that when disruptions happen, whether from floods, droughts, or prolonged heat waves, buildings can keep people safe and operations running.
Several Indian projects have already demonstrated what this looks like in practice. Infosys ECity Phase-1 SEZ in Bengaluru, India’s first LEED v5 O+M Platinum certified project, served as a learning example during India’s G20 Presidency in 2023, when delegates from the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group visited the site to understand how the company integrates renewable energy and sustainable building operations. Similarly, DLF Cyber Park in Gurugram, a recently certified LEED v5 O+M Platinum high-rise, has adopted high-performance glazing, energy-efficient chillers, renewable energy sourcing, and flood-resilient design features to mitigate both emissions and climate risks.
Equally significant is the focus on carbon. 50% of the points in LEED v5 are tied to decarbonisation. Projects must not only measure operational carbon but also plan for long-term reduction. The bar has been raised, and rightly so.
Why the Market is Paying Attention
For years, sustainability was seen as a moral choice. Today, it is firmly a financial one. LEED-certified assets consistently outperform their peers. Globally, they command a 21.4% higher average sales price per square foot and enjoy rental rates that are around 11% higher. Investors see them as less risky, not just because they save energy but because they are better equipped to withstand shocks.
The operational savings are real too. Retrofit programmes around the world have shown energy cuts of 30–50% in large institutional buildings. Those numbers translate into lower utility bills, healthier margins, and spaces that tenants want to occupy. When you add the benefit of healthier, more productive indoor environments, the value proposition is obvious.
Three Things India Must Do Differently
From my perspective, three priorities stand out.
- Make carbon planning routine. Every building should treat emissions as a line item, much like financial liabilities. Having a decarbonisation plan should be as standard as having a maintenance plan.
- Mainstream resilience. Hazard assessments and continuity planning must become the norm in building codes and certifications. This includes flood risk mapping, water stress planning, and citywide Heat Action Plans. Ahmedabad’s, for instance, has already averted over 1,200 deaths a year since 2013. Frameworks like LEED v5 already provide tested pathways.
- Accelerate policy and finance reforms. Annual reporting on energy and emissions, incentives for retrofits, and databases to track embodied carbon will push the market faster. Access to green finance at lower costs will make adoption easier.
Much of the India of 2050 is still to be built. That fact should give us both pause and optimism. The pause comes from knowing how high the stakes are. The optimism comes from realising that we still have time to make the right choices.
With nearly $770 billion in potential annual damages from flooding by 2050, and one-fifth of working hours in major Indian cities under extreme heat stress, India cannot afford to treat resilience as optional. Retrofitting and decarbonisation are not just about climate goals — they are insurance for competitiveness, liveability, and economic stability.
The storms, heatwaves, and floods of the future are not going to wait. Our buildings, and by extension our cities, need to be ready.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan
Managing Director – SAME, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)
As Regional Director of GBCI India, Mr. Gopalakrishnan manages business and market development of LEED and other GBCI rating systems for the Southeast Asia and Middle East regions. An alumnus of College of Engineering, Guindy and IIM Kolkata, he has more than 20 years of corporate experience in Southeast Asia and Middle East regions.
