A four-pronged approach to tackle air pollution (GS Paper 3, Environment)
Context:
- In recent years, the winter season, especially in the Northern states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh has been marked by stubble burning.
- This has not only contributed to poor air quality in North India but affects the entire country.
Burden of air pollution:
- A study conducted by Lancet in December 2020 estimated that in 2019, nearly 1.7 million premature deaths in India were due to air pollution.
- In addition to human costs, air pollution also has economic costs. India faced economic losses of an estimated US$36 billion annually which is nearly 1.736 percent of its GDP, due to premature deaths and morbidity caused by air pollution.
Steps taken to tackle air pollution:
- The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched in 2019. It is a long-term, time-bound national-level strategy.
- Under the programme, 122 cities with high air pollution have been selected and have been mandated to create action plans to reduce PM 2.5 emissions by 20-30 percent by 2024 compared to 2017 levels.
- The implementation of BS-VI norms in the automotive sector along with the thrust given to electric mobility under the National Electric Mobility Mission Planis also expected to reduce emissions.
- Similarly, the Ujjwala Mission is contributing to reducing emissions by increasing the adoption of LPG.
A multi-stakeholder approach:
- However, to truly improve the air quality, India needs to adopt a four-pronged approach involving the government, private sector, finance, and community.
Government:
- The government is a major stakeholder in driving action against air pollution. Increasing the number of air pollution monitoring stations, especially in rural areas can increase the data available and help develop targeted interventions to mitigate air pollution.
- Existing programmes such as NCAP can be made more effective by setting legally binding targets and by improving compliance through the utilisation of tools such as NCAP Tracker which tracks how different cities are performing in improving air quality.
- In addition, governments can provide additional funding for research against air pollution, and leverage partnerships with other countries and multilateral organizations for initiatives like technology transfer and knowledge sharing to build a strong framework for combating air pollution.
Cooperative federalism:
- Furthermore, as air pollution sources are often spread across states and their effects are felt by people across geographies, there is a need to utilise India’s cooperative federalism.
- Cooperative federalism can help foster greater cooperation and joint action among states which can help curb air pollution effectively.
- This can take the form of a multi-stakeholder body with representation from the affected states. This body can devise strategies and action plans for tackling air pollution as well as provide frameworks for local bodies to develop localised solutions to improve air quality based on the ground realities.
- The Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Bill, 2021 is a step in this direction.
- The Central Government or NITI Aayog can take a lead in facilitating the creation of such bodies which can channel the synergies of cooperative federalism for improving air quality.
Private Sector:
- The private sector is a major contributor to air pollution, and therefore, must be actively engaged to combat air pollution.
- Making supply chains and processes environmental friendly can help reduce air pollution. The private sector has the technical expertise and in-depth knowledge about sectors.
- For example, sharing its expertise in big-data analytics can provide a valuable tool to combat air pollution by making air monitoring more effective and allowing decision-makers to make timely interventions.
- Also, the private sector can design innovative solutions that have the potential to be sustainable solutions for air pollution.
- Innovations such as energy-efficient industrial lubricants developed by ExxonMobil not only reduce emissions but also increase competitiveness.
- Providing suitable incentives can spur the private sector to develop such innovative ideas that address environmental viability along with profitability.
Finance:
- Moving towards pathways that reduce air pollution requires significant financial investment.
- Governments have limited scope to increase financial commitments due to fiscal constraints. Thus, the role of private finance becomes all the more important.
- A suitable financial architecture is needed that can leverage private investments in clean air.
- A dedicated investment fund to aid the transition to environment-friendly technologies can help ease the adoption of such technologies. The investment fund can also be utilised to fund startups that work towards combating air pollution.
Community:
- Currently, the health outcomes of air pollution are monitored mainly for urban populations, which leaves out the vast majority of Indians (70 percent) living in rural areas.
- Rural women are one of the most vulnerable groups due to their exposure to indoor air pollution contributed by burning of firewood.
- Tribal communities are also vulnerable to air pollution due to the presence of mining and industrial activities near their settlements which contribute to air pollution.
- Thus, it is important to include communities, especially those that are vulnerable to develop inclusive solutions to air pollution.
Way Forward:
- Representation should be given to women and tribal communities in environmental policymaking and their consent must be necessary for large-scale industrial or mining projects.
- Also, community-based solutions to combat air pollution should be encouraged.
- These solutions can take various forms such as community drives for afforestation, self-help groups that spread awareness among their members and strengthening capacities of rural communities to adopt cleaner fuels.
