Black suits, backless cholis and climate change

Sartorial inequality between the genders contributes to  climate change. When it comes to formal dressing, women tend to cover themselves lightly, if not minimally, while men feel obliged to wear a jacket and a tie, even in the summer warmth of tropical India. When they share the same air-conditioned room, another sort of gender inequality ensures the temperature is kept at a level that makes suited men comfortable, even if it leaves the fairer sex covered with goosebumps. 

If the men were to shed a few layers of clothing, the room temperature could be raised by at least 3 degrees centigrade. The power saved on airconditioning across millions of sq ft of built-up space would be a lot. Power saved is carbon-dioxide emissions averted. A little gender equality, combined with a little daring in re-imagining formal attire in warm climates, would go a long way in reducing the energy spent on cooling interiors. This, of course, is not a novel idea. Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister during 2001-2006, asked Japanese men to shed their suits and went around in shirt sleeves. It took the Fukushima disaster and subsequent power shortages for the idea to gain real traction. 

India has a little less than 1,000 million sq ft of Grade A built-up public space. It breaks up something like this: Office space: Grade A 360 million sq ft; Grade B 360 million sq ft. IT campuses: 100 million sq ft. Retail Malls: Grade A80 million sq ft. Hotels: 24 million sq ft. Total: 924 mn sq ft. 

The power needed to cool this space for an average of eight hours a day for 120 days a year is roughly 8,574,720,000 kwh. The corresponding emission of carbon-dioxide is roughly 650,000 tonnes, at the rate of 0.70555 tonnes per 1,000 kwh. Assume air-conditioned spaces are kept 15 degrees below the temperature outside on average. Suppose shedding extra layers of male clothing will allow the temperature inside to go up 3 degrees. That means a 20% savings in power and carbon-dioxide emissions. Even a 10% saving would still avoid nearly 65,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxide. 

Of course, women can close the gender gap in air-conditioning temperatures without men stripping for climate change. They can ape the men and swap their present gossamer fabrics or backless cholis for the formal jacket and trousers. Your choice, gentlemen.

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