New Delhi, Jun 24 (IANS): As climate concerns take centre stage globally amid the pandemic, the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) has assured to take steps towards creating awareness and adoption of green buildings across the country, saying that India can be a global leader in this respect by next year.

India is currently placed third after China and Canada in terms of green buildings.

During a webinar on 'India's Leadership Role in Advancing Green Buildings', which was jointly organised by NAREDCO, CII and Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), the apex bodies noted that the developers are firm believers of sustainable development.

The sector stakeholders were of the view that although the cost of green buildings is marginally higher, it is in greater good to go green.

Addressing the webinar, Surendra Kumar Bagde, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said that a campaign should be launched to spread awareness about the marginal cost difference between green and conventional buildings and the former's benefits.

He also said that all the required laws and regulations are in place to help the developers construct green buildings. The official, however, noted that it needs to be seen whether cities in specific are adopting the norms to support the growth of green buildings.

Chairman of NAREDCO, Rajeev Talwar, stressed on having more greenery in the cities.

"Now city forests are parts of life and that's where the government can step in. In many urban agglomerations it may not be possible, but the more vertical we go, the greater the chance that we can go green," he said.

Gurmit Singh Arora, Vice Chairman, IGBC, noted that India has been a global leader in the green buildings movement over the last two decades, with over 7.83 billion square feet of green footprint.

"The contribution of all the stakeholders, including the government, developers and builders, in the green journey has been phenomenal," he added.