Climate change negotiations saw their most productive month in October when the Paris agreement was ratified, and mitigation agreements on emissions from civil aviation and hydrofluorocarbons were reached. However, all of this may prove to be too little too late, as many global thresholds were crossed this year.
The 11-month period from November 2015 till August 2016 has been the hottest streak of months on record. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached 400 parts per million on average across the year and scientists have confirmed that it will not dip below this level for many generations to come. Several scientists have also stated that because climate mitigation has been so inadequate, the target of keeping global warming within 1.5°C of pre-industrial temperatures is almost definitely going to be missed. Without much stronger mitigation measures from the global community, it is likely that the the world will overshoot the 2°C mark as well.
It is in this brave new world that the now-perennial problem of urban air pollution in India needs to be examined. In October, room air purifiers and face masks became ubiquitous in Delhi. While the city’s air quality gets a particularly bad rap, several other Indian cities like Gwalior, Allahabad and Patna also have extremely poor air quality. Even cities like Bangalore, once known as the “Garden City” for its greenery and fresh air, report worsening air quality with every passing year.
What's climate change got to do with it?
Air pollution and climate change are mostly seen as two distinct problems. Air pollution is hazardous to human health due to pollutants like particulate matter, surface ozone and volatile organic compounds. It is one of the few environmental issues that has been in the front and centre of the news cycle and public discourse possibly because it is an immediate problem with visible impact on human health. More than half a million lives are claimed annually by respiratory and other pollutant-caused illnesses, which should be treated as a national health crisis.
Climate change on the other hand, feels less visible and immediate in our daily lives even though its impacts are far greater. From increasing temperatures, unpredictable weather patterns to droughts, climate change threatens every aspect of life for several generations. Some of the biggest sources of carbon emissions – cars, thermal power plants and landfills – are also the sources of air pollution in cities and therefore, the two issues cannot be discussed in isolation.
Tackling both together has immediate gains: both in terms of the health of citizens and the financial benefit of solving two problems with a single set of policy measures. Air pollution issues, given their priority to the public, can give the government the political capital it needs for stronger climate mitigation measures that may be less popular like increasing the price of electricity or congestion pricing for road traffic. Further, tackling air pollution needs far greater policy measures than temporary local interventions like Delhi’s odd-even rule.
After all, when those air purifiers are switched on, the pollution does not disappear into the ether. It is merely transferred from your house to the vicinity of the coal-fired thermal power plant where the electricity that powers your air purifier is generated. And that electricity does not come cheaply. Between 80,000 and 115,000 people die prematurely every year due to emissions from thermal power plants, according to a 2013 study.
There are around 13 coal-fired TPPs within a 300-km radius of Delhi and another nine under construction within a 500-km radius. Last year’s IIT-Kanpur air pollution source apportionment study of Delhi concluded that thermal power plants were responsible for the majority of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions and a significant percentage of particulate matter and other pollutants.
Crushing on coal
Apart from their direct impact on human health, thermal power plants in India and China are one of the world’s most significant sources of carbon emissions (though it should be noted that China has a much higher number of plants). Which is why it is a matter of grave concern that Indian government has decided to double indigenous coal production by 2020. While experts predict that production will fall well short of the government’s projection, thermal power plant development and coal mining have expanded tremendously in the last few years without a concurrent increase in environmental and safety standard enforcement.
The reason often cited for aggressively pursuing a fossil fuel heavy energy mix is that millions in the country still have no access to grid-connected electricity. Detractors point out that grid expansion and stability are more immediate issues than power production. Further, 94% of the coal power capacity that is currently under construction will lie idle in 2022 due to unplanned overcapacity, according to analysis by Greenpeace.
Finally, studies show that climate change may worsen regional air quality, by increasing the incidence of surface ozone and particulate matter which are pollutants that have serious impacts on human health. One way or another we are going to have to deal with climate impacts, and soon.
Action on air pollution should not be the sole preserve of the hapless Delhi government but requires a much wider effort from bodies including the central government. The public’s response to air pollution should not be to externalise the problem by merely transferring the pollution to a different part of the country, but to demand stronger, long-term climate mitigation measures from the government. Quietly turning on air purifiers and hoping for the best won’t help: we need to start a public conversation on stricter thermal power plants standards, solid waste management and a rational energy policy that will not endanger people’s lives and is not decided by a small group of oligarchs in boardrooms.
Lekha Sridhar is a lawyer and climate policy researcher, currently working with a New Delhi-based climate think tank. Views expressed here are solely those of the author.