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Mitigation of Air Pollution in India: A Review
by Apoorva Sharad
Abstract
It has been recognized that human health is negatively impacted due to air
pollution. Consequently, we need efficient strategies for mitigation of air
pollution for sustainable environment and human health. A credible and
efficient approach to decrease air pollution is proposed. There are various ways
of reducing air pollution like increasing the green cover area, decreasing carbon
emissions and adopting system of carbon credit. The following paper discusses
about the various mitigation pathways for air pollution.
Introduction
Air pollution is the oldest problem, or it is better to say older than humanity
itself. As per ancient Indian texts like ‘Charaka Samhita’ describes air pollution
as “the air which is against the virtues of season, full of moisture, speedy, hard,
hot dry, terribly roaring, colliding from two or three sides, bad smelling, oily,
full of dirt, smoke, sand and steam creates diseases in body and is polluted”
(James et al.). Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization particularly in the
20th century, there has been a great surge in air pollution. Events like the Great
London smog and Donora disaster has forced to take measures for setting
standards in air quality. Carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM),
nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ozone(O3) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are the
primary atmospheric pollutants. However, currently only 10 percent of the
world population live in a city which complies with the air quality standards
laid down by international organizations like World Health Organization(WHO)
(Khilnani and Tiwari 2018). As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
report on Delhi, during Diwali in year 2016 recorded the worst Air Quality
Indices (AQI) due to various reasons like burning of crackers, or even due to
stubble burning in the adjacent regions. As per the current scenario in India air
pollution is a serious health emergency, nearly 6000 deaths/day is attributable to
air pollution (Khilnani and Tiwari 2018).
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In the 21st century, mankind is facing greatest social and environmental
challenges due to legal or illegal deforestation further changing the land use and
land covers around the globe. Out of the total GHGs emissions, for 12%
deforestation alone is responsible (Petrokofsky et al. 2012). The thirteenth
Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, emphasized on linking deforestation with climate change.
The Bali action plan agreed on “incentives on issues relating to reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries;
and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and
enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries”. The above
agreement is now referred as REDD+ instrument (Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation) as per COP-16 of UNFCCC in 2010.
REDD+ mitigation action plan includes the following:
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Reducing emissions from deforestation.
Reducing emissions from forest degradation.
Conservation of forest carbon stocks.
Sustainable management of forest.
Enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
Due to deforestation and forest degradation, stored carbon in the forests is
substantially reduced in the atmosphere a carbon dioxide. During the 1990s,
approx. 1-2 billion tonnes of carbon per year was released due to deforestation
of tropical forests, and it was 15-25% of the total annual GHGs emissions and
was higher than the transportation sector (Chaturvedi et al. 2011). For the
tropical countries like Africa, deforestation and forest degradation accounted for
nearly 70% of total emissions (Chaturvedi et al. 2011).
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Mitigation pathways:
The levels of carbon in the atmosphere needs to be minimized in order to
mitigate climate change. Carbon capturing needs to emphasized which can be
done by various ways. Carbon sequestration is one such ways to capture carbon
from the atmosphere. There are various ways to capture carbon, i.e., through
physical, chemical and biological processes. The natural types of carbon capture
system (carbon sequestration) are terrestrial, geological and oceanic
sequestration. In the present study we are concerned about terrestrial carbon
sequestration by plants. Carbon Sequestration in the terrestrial ecosystem in
particular is a cost-efficient process which nowadays has gained popularity after
Kyoto protocol. For India recently at COP26 announced “net zero” carbon
emission by 2070 (National Statement by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at
COP26 Summit in Glasgow).
The atmosphere gets cleansed by vegetation naturally by absorbing various
gases and particulate matter through leaves. Due to large surface area and the
leaves, plants function as an efficient pollutant trapping device. On the basis of
degree of sensitivity plants and tolerance plants are classified (Shannigrahi * et
al. 2004). For bio indicators, sensitive plant species are recommended. From
species-to-species tolerance varies for different pollution level. By the help of
Air pollution tolerance index (APTI) plants are classified like APTI for
Magnifera indica, Moringa pterydosperma, Cassia renigera and Ailanthus
excelsa is high and are suitable for green belt(GB) development (Shannigrahi *
et al. 2004).
India is also pushing for electric vehicles which will also serve as the clean
energy solutions and thus will reduce carbon emissions significantly. The EV
push policies will deliver significant contribution in the reduction of carbon
emissions and has potential to be the driving force of India to contribute in
global target of reducing temperature by 2 degree Celsius (Dhar et al. 2017).
There is another way of mitigating air pollution, that is by implementation of
carbon credit system. As we are familiar that, carbon dioxide is the most
important greenhouse gas produced during combustion of fuels and has become
a cause of global attention as its concentration in the Earth's atmosphere has
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been rising significantly. This has given an opportunity for the trade of carbon
credits both within and outside of the regulated area, thereby creating a global
"carbon market". In this system of carbon trading, controls are imposed on
Green House Gas (GHG) emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, and the predecided emission limits are then allocated across countries, which have to
control the greenhouse gas emissions from the various industries and
commercial units operating within them (Gupta 2011).
Discussion
There is clear scientific evidence that global warming takes place due to
anthropogenic carbon emissions leading to climate change, which causes
catastrophic consequences to humans and the natural environment (Dhanda
& Hartman, 2011; Peñuelas et al., 2013; IPCC, 2014;). Artificial carbon
emissions come from energy utilities, public and private buildings,
transportation systems, and other human activities such as agriculture,
farming, waste and water treatments, and other industrial activities (Gale et
al., 2005; Forman, 2014). Carbon emissions denote various greenhouse gases
(GHG): carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC) and sulphur hexafluoride
(SF6), although CO2 is the primary one having the highest potential surface
warming capacity and remaining in the atmosphere longer than any other
carbon gas (IPCC, 2014). Greenhouse gases are capable of absorbing sunlight
and raising the surface temperature of the earth (McElroy, 2002). All
greenhouse gases do not contain carbon but are still considered as carbon
gases.
A substantial reduction in anthropogenic carbon emissions is vital for
mitigating the consequences of global warming and climate change. More than
170 countries have signed the Paris climate agreement to limit the increase in
global average temperature to well below 20 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by reducing carbon emissions (UNFCC, n.d.). Thus, various
climate strategies such as low carbon energy transitions and carbon neutrality
are necessary to significantly reduce carbon emissions (Brandt et al., 2014;
UNFCC, 2014).
Low carbon energy transition is the process of transforming currently used
fossil fuel-based energy practices to low emission producing clean and
renewable energy utilization practices (Geels et al., 2016; ETC, 2017).
Similarly, carbon neutrality refers to the method of balancing anthropogenic
carbon emissions with various carbon reducing measures (Selman, 2010). Low
carbon energy transitions are projected to meet carbon neutrality (Tozer &
Klenk, 2018).
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Thus, I focus on practices and policies for low carbon energy transition to
carbon neutrality. In this dissertation, practices denote the activities of
national and local administrations, civil societies, and other societal
stakeholders for the realization of low carbon energy transition and carbon
neutrality. Policies are the theoretical and technical instruments of
administrations that create the foundation and legislative frames to control
issues related to particular subjects in accordance with societal needs and
obligations (Estrada, 2011).
Carbon neutrality of the energy sector plays a crucial role in achieving the
overall carbon neutrality of a geographical area. This is one of the best ways to
address climate change, including other environmental concerns (Dhanda
&Hartman, 2011). Carbon neutrality is not only a matter of pragmatic climate
strategy, but it is also a reputed environmental solution that needs to be better
understood conceptually (see the description of the concept in section 3
below). The phrase ‘carbon neutrality’ has become popular recently since cities
and countries are focusing on robust climate mitigation practices with the
carbon neutral targets. However, success in reaching carbon neutral targets
are strongly dependent on how mitigation strategies have been formulated and
implemented both in the city and at the national level.
The majority of carbon emissions around the world are produced by the
production, consumption and supply of energy as it is the core of today’s
economic activities, and carbon-emitting fossil fuels such as coal and natural
gas are predominantly utilized to produce energy (Olivier et al., 2015). Thus,
significant carbon emission reduction through low carbon energy transition is
vital to combat global warming and climate change. Low carbon energy
transition to carbon neutrality, a multi-faceted process, is one of the key goals
of climate change mitigation. It aims to transform energy systems towards
sustainability using strategic measures and practices (Laes et al., 2014). It
promotes infrastructural, socio-cultural, and technological transformation in
building premises, energy sector, and transport systems to provide several
effective and win-win solutions for carbon emissions reduction (Hiteva, 2013;
Geels et al., 2016). Some such win-win solutions are the shift from fossil fuels
to renewables inputs, reduced demand for energy and energy efficiency
improvements which can create the balanced relationship between social,
economic, and environmental concerns while reducing carbon emissions. The
low carbon energy transition of the energy sector can result in attractive co
benefits such as less air pollution, lower fossil fuel bills for countries importing
energy, and lower household energy expenditures (IEA & IRENA, 2017).
However, such benefits are dependent on how communities act upon low
carbon energy transition activities at the local level and how they get informed
of the initiatives supporting national and local level climate and energy targets
(Lemon et al., 2015).
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Conclusion:
By reducing carbon emissions as well as increasing carbon sequestration mainly
by terrestrial carbon sinks like green belt and preserving forests, India can
effectively mitigate the air pollution.
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