Today, air pollution has emerged as a global public health problem and is recognized as a major environmental health hazard by agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments around the world. The increase in the concentration of pollutants – both gaseous and solid – is one of the biggest health risks in the world and according to the latest data released by the WHO, indoor and outdoor air pollution were responsible for 3.7 million deaths of people under the age of 60 in 2012.
In recent years, air pollution has acquired critical dimensions and air quality in most Indian cities that monitor outdoor air pollution fails to meet guidelines for safe levels. Levels of PM2.5 and PM10 (air-borne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter) have reached alarming proportions, along with the concentration of dangerous carcinogenic substances such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In most Indian cities, putting people at additional risk of respiratory diseases and other health problems. Moreover, the issue of indoor air pollution has put women and children at higher risk.
Major Causes of Air Pollution in India
According to data available from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), as of January 2015, coal-fired thermal power plants account for 60.72% of India’s total electricity generation. Coal plants are one of the major sources of SO2 and NO2.
According to Census 2011, 87% of rural households and 26% of urban households depend on biomass for cooking. Burning of biomass is a major cause of indoor air pollution and is responsible for respiratory and pulmonary health issues for about 400 million Indians.
The growing number of cars in Indian cities – private and commercial vehicles account for 66.28% of the total consumption of diesel*. Low standards for vehicle emissions and fuels have resulted in increased levels of nitrogen oxides and sulfur.
The proportion of rural households using kerosene as the primary source of energy for lighting is about 30%. Kerosene lanterns used in rural areas are a primary source of black carbon soot emissions and cause significant health effects, particularly in the case of women and children.
It is in this context that this brief analyses the impact of air pollution on India and the initiatives and policy measures taken by the Government, such as adoption of automobile fuel emission standards and the adoption of new fuel emission standards to reduce air pollution as well as to raise public awareness on this issue of great public importance.
Effects of Air Pollution in India
Air pollution, both indoor (domestic) and outdoor, has a significant impact on the health of citizens as well as the health of the economy. The adverse effects of air pollution are not only restricted to urban areas but also affect rural areas, where the majority of the population depends on kerosene and the burning of biomass for lighting and cooking purposes, respectively.
Air pollution is one of the leading causes of death in India
The Global Burden of Disease report has ranked outdoor air pollution as the fifth leading cause of death in India and indoor air pollution as the third leading cause. Outdoor air pollution was responsible for 6,20,000 deaths in 2010, a sixfold increase from the 1,00,000 deaths in 2000. Moreover, a research study by researchers from the University of Chicago, Harvard and Yale estimated that high particulate matter (PM) concentration is responsible for reducing life expectancy by 3.2 years for the 660 million Indians living in urban agglomerations.
Negative impact on agricultural productivity
A recent research study “Recent climate and air pollution impacts on Indian agriculture” by scientists at the University of California, San Diego suggests adverse effects of air pollution caused by short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) on agricultural productivity. They observed that wheat yield had decreased by about 36% in 2010 and rice by 20% when compared to 1980 data, negating climate change. SLCPs such as ozone and black carbon are released into the atmosphere by motor vehicle exhaust and rural cook stoves, respectively. These SLCPs remain in the atmosphere for a short duration.
Air pollution costs up to 3% of GDP
A World Bank report titled Diagnostic assessment of selected environmental challenges in India states that the annual cost of air pollution, particularly pollution from particulate matter (burning of fossil fuels) amounts to up to 3% of the country’s GDP; with outdoor air pollution accounting for 1.7% and indoor air pollution for 1.3%. The report also observed that a 30% reduction in particulate emissions by 2030 would save India $105 billion in health-related costs; a 10% reduction would save $24 billion. In light of the adverse effects, coupled with the fact that the concentration of particulate matter in 180 Indian cities is about six times higher than the standards set by the WHO, the issue of air quality has become a major concern for the Indian government, making it a major concern for the Indian government.
Summary of major government initiatives and policy measures to tackle the issue
Amid the growing concerns related to rising air pollution, the Government of India has taken various initiatives as well as introduced policies to address the issue. To prevent and control air pollution, the Parliament of India enacted the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 on 29 March 1981, which came into force on 15 May of the same year. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring ambient air quality and is entrusted with the power and functions to achieve the set objective. Thus, the CPCB along with various State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) monitor the ambient air quality as per the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) with the help of 580 manual stations installed in 244 cities, towns and industrial areas.
Further, a total of 42 questions on air pollution, its impact and emissions and efforts to check air pollution have been raised in the last 3 sessions of Parliament (24 in J&K Lok Sabha and 18 in MSP), which suggests the interest of Members of Parliament on the said issue. This section covers important government initiatives and policy measures in the last few years aimed at curbing both indoor and outdoor air pollution.
I) Steps to curb vehicular emissions
With the increase in the number of vehicles on Indian roads, air pollution generated by vehicular emissions has become the main source of air pollution in the urban centres of the country. Moreover, in FY 2014, diesel cars accounted for 53% of overall car sales. According to a report released by the International Council on Clean Transportation, diesel vehicles are responsible for 56% of all PM emissions and 70% of all nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from on-road vehicles in India. Moreover, the sulfur content in the fuel makes it dirtier and reduces the efficiency of catalytic converters, which regulate emissions in automobiles. Therefore, several steps have been taken to mitigate the issue of vehicular emissions.
Adoption of Emission Norms and Fuel Regulation Standards
Since the year 2000, India started adopting European emission and fuel regulations for all categories of vehicles. Under this scheme, Bharat Stage II emission standards were introduced initially in four metro cities by using cleaner fuels with lower sulfur content and improved combustion engines to manage the amount of air pollutants released by internal combustion engine equipment. Accordingly, oil marketing companies were required to supply BS compliant fuels and auto manufacturers had to upgrade engines in a phased manner. Later, Bharat Stage fuel norms were implemented in the rest of the country; as of 26 November 2011, BS – IV norms apply in 34 cities while BS -III norms apply in the rest of the country. However, India is following the European norms with a time lag of five years and it is a decade behind developing countries like Turkey and Brazil in introducing cleaner-burning fuels. The Saumitra Chaudhuri Committee, set up to look into automobile fuel emission standards, has recommended that the government introduce Bharat Stage – V norms across the country by 2020.
Promoting cleaner technologies and alternative sources of energy for driving vehicles
The National Mission for Electric Mobility (NMEM) aims to increase the penetration of efficient and eco-friendly hybrid and electric vehicles; GOI committed Rs 1,000 crore for the scheme in 2015, with an eye to reducing CO2 emissions by 1.2-1.5% by 2020. Promoting cultivation, production and use of biofuels to substitute petrol and diesel in automobiles. 20% blending of biofuels such as bio-diesel and bio-ethanol has been indicated by 2017; Ethanol run bus launched in Nagpur under ‘Green Bus’ project.
National Urban Transport Policy: Encouraging greater use of public transport in urban areas
Most Indian cities are increasingly relying on motorised personal transport; in cities such as Pune and Ahmedabad, motorised personal transport (in the form of cars and two-wheelers) accounts for 48% and 44% share of modes of transport used, respectively. Keeping this in mind, the National Urban Transport Policy launched by the Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD) in 2006 and reviewed in 2014, seeks to prioritise the use of public transport running on cleaner fuels and technology and develop people-centric sustainable multi-modal urban transport networks, taking into account the unique characteristics and specific conditions prevailing in cities. Hence, various cities have either adopted or are in the process of developing public transport systems such as Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS), Light Rail Transit Systems (LRTS) and Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRTS); Currently 14 MRT, 8 BRT are operational in India.
II) Reducing reliance on biomass burning in rural households
Biomass – fuel wood, agricultural residues and animal waste – is one of the most prevalent sources of energy in India, with about 87% of rural households and 26% of urban households relying on biomass for cooking. These fuels are burned in old cookstoves, which result in the emission of harmful pollutants, thereby contributing to indoor air pollution in rural areas. The Government of India has focused on the importance of clean and efficient cookstoves to reduce emissions as well as the health hazards associated with inhalation of these emissions.
National Biomass Cookstoves Programme: Improved Cookstoves to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution
The National Biomass Cookstoves Programme (NBCP) was launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to promote the use of improved cookstoves that will result in reduced emissions and offer cleaner cooking energy solutions. As part of this programme, the Government conducted extensive consultations with NGOs, entrepreneurs and industries in the country with the objective of identifying ways and means for the development and deployment of improved biomass cookstoves in a large number of community enterprises and individual households.
Based on further discussions and deliberations, the Government took up the National Biomass Cookstove Initiative to design, develop an efficient and cost-effective tool and assess the status of improved chulhas. Under this initiative, pilot scale demonstrative projects were carried out to test the efficacy of community size cookstoves in mid-day meal schemes in government schools in the states of AP, Chhattisgarh, UP, Maharashtra, MP and Haryana and individual biomass cook stoves in J&K, Bihar, Karnataka, UP and Jharkhand. The results of the projects indicated considerable reduction in emissions and fuel consumption, accordingly, Annat Chulha Abhiyan has been launched to expand the deployment of improved cook-stoves across the country. The Union Budget 2015-16 has allocated Rs. for promotion of improved cookstoves and solar cookers.
iii) Renewable energy – New area of focus to reduce dependence on coal
India is extremely rich in renewable energy (RE) sources, such as wind, solar and small hydro, however, green energy accounts for only 12.14% of the total installed power capacity. According to the India Renewable Energy Status Report 2014, the total renewable energy capacity from various sources in India is 2,49,188 MW, which means only 12.71% of the potential has been achieved from renewable energy generated in the country. It is imperative that the country changes its existing energy mix and reduces its dependence on coal and shifts to greener modes of energy. The Electricity Act, 2003 proposed mandatory renewable purchase specifications (RPS) for all states to increase the uptake of electricity from renewable energy sources. The State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) specified a mandatory purchase obligation to procure a fixed percentage of energy generated from RE sources. It is in line with this idea that the government has set an ambitious target to achieve 175,000 MW of green energy by 2022, comprising one lakh MW of solar power, 60,000 MW of wind power, 10,000 MW of biomass and 5000 MW of small hydro projects. Accordingly, several incentives and policy initiatives at the central and state levels have been put in place for both grid connected and off-grid renewable energy.
Solar Power: To Become a Vital Component of India’s Power Portfolio
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), part of the missions launched as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change seeks to tap the immense potential of solar energy as a future energy source in the country. As part of the mission, it is envisaged that the installed capacity of solar power – both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic – should be ramped up to 20 GW by 2022 in three phases; To achieve this, an enabling policy framework has to be created for the manufacturing of solar components and setting up of power plants. Further, off-grid applications are to be promoted and steps taken to bring the tariff to grid parity levels. This mission has been largely successful and the present government has revised the target to 100 GW by 2022. Currently, the second phase of the Solar Mission is underway and the total installed capacity of solar power is 3,382.78 MW (as on 28.02.2015).
Role of States in Promoting Renewable Energy
States are expected to play a key role in promoting RE by establishing a policy and regulatory framework that incentivizes generation and procurement. Some states have taken the lead in the RE space by adopting initiatives such as reducing VAT on RE components, adopting preferential tariffs for purchasing power from RE sources and initiatives for the production of RE for off-grid applications as well. Furthermore, most of the progress in the RE space has been state-driven to date with states such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh focusing extensively on diversifying their energy mix; about 38% of TN’s total installed power capacity comes from RE. The success of initiatives such as the Gandhinagar Solar Photovoltaic Rooftop Programme – to make it a solar city by installing grid interactive rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in Gandhinagar to install and generate solar power – has encouraged other states and cities to take steps to encourage public participation in the generation and use of green energy sources.
Move from carbon subsidy to carbon taxation
The cess on coal has been doubled to Rs. 200 per tonne from Rs. 100 per tonne, which will boost renewable energy financing. India is one of the few countries in the world to have introduced such a tax. The cess is collected as the National Clean Energy Fund and is distributed to renewable energy-based initiatives and power projects.
Iv) National ‘Air Quality Index’ to enable common man to understand air quality
Announced in October 2014 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the National Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measurement index consisting of 8 parameters, which will disseminate information in a simple and effective manner to the common man as characterized by its slogan “One Colour, One Number and One Description”. This data will be available for 10 cities in the first phase after launch and will be disseminated in a real-time manner to increase public awareness. Under the AQI scheme, the levels of 8 pollutants are classified as good, satisfactory, moderately polluted, poor, very poor and severe, based on the ambient concentration, conformity to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and the likelihood of health impact. It is planned that this Air Quality Index will be extended to 20 state capitals and cities with more than 46 million inhabitants in the next few years. It was launched by the Prime Minister on 6thapril, 2015.
Conclusion
Air pollution is a complex issue and negatively impacts the health of citizens as well as the economy of the country. Both indoor and outdoor air pollution have emerged as one of the leading causes of deaths in India and while recent reports highlight the worsening outdoor air pollution in urban centres, indoor air pollution due to biomass burning and inefficient ‘chulhas’ is also an area of concern. The Government of India and state governments have recognised the adverse impact of air pollution and there has been an increase in seriousness about addressing the issue of air quality among all stakeholders. In addition, recent efforts such as the launch of the National Air Quality Index attest to the need to increase public awareness on the quality of the air they are breathing. A shift towards renewable energy is part of the plan to reduce dependence on fossil fuels as well as provide clean energy to households, which are currently using kerosene for lighting purposes. It is important that a comprehensive, integrated and long-term action plan, involving coordination between various ministries and departments, is prepared to address this issue, reduce air pollution and ensure that citizens breathe clean air.
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