World Environment Day 2022: 7 best ways to reduce pollution in Indian cities
World Environment Day 2022: Pollution is a country-wide menace since transport-related emissions are some of the biggest contributors to city
World Environment Day 2022: Pollution is a country-wide menace since transport-related emissions are some of the biggest contributors to city pollution. Here are 7 best ways to contain and reduce pollution at least in the Indian cities and urban locations
Updated on Jun 05, 2022 12:57 PM IST 9 Photos
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That all-around pollution has been one of the most pressing and exacting challenges that we face today is not an overstatement. Holding the dubious distinction of hosting 35 of the 50 global cities with the worst air quality, India is indeed the pollution capital of the world. Ahead of World Environment Day 2022 in an interview with HT Lifestyle, Suyash Gupta, Director General of Indian Auto LPG Coalition, told Zarafshan Shiraz, “While this persistent scourge has continued to play havoc with people’s health, for policymakers, the sheer scale, the spread and the complexity of the challenge have been daunting enough. For the world’s fastest-growing major economy today, aspiring to touch the $5 trillion mark in the nearest possible time, the dilemma of finding that fine balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability becomes particularly acute.” (Image by Robert Jones from Pixabay)
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The important questions are, even as pollution is a country-wide menace, how can we contain and reduce pollution at least in the Indian cities and urban locations? More specifically, since transport-related emissions are some of the biggest contributors to city pollution, what are some of the ways to reduce pollution and related effects in Indian cities? Suyash Gupta revealed 7 best ways to reduce pollution in Indian cities: (Image by Aksh Kinjawadekar from Pixabay )
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1. Not just aspirational, but a pragmatic decarbonisation of the transport sector, both passenger and freight - First, pragmatic decarbonisation of the transport sector, through the use of much lower carbon fuels, should become a top and immediate priority for the authorities. We must be mindful of the fact that India’s transport sector is responsible for 13.5 percent of the country’s energy-related CO2 emissions, with road transport accounting for 90 percent of the sector’s final energy consumption. Furthermore, it has been estimated that transportation sources are responsible for approximately a third of PM pollution, perhaps the most harmful pollutant to human health which also contributes high to nitrogen oxides emissions in the country. Nonetheless, the scope of the decarbonisation programme must be extended to both personal/private vehicles and heavy duty vehicles (HDVs). For private vehicles, relaxing policy norms for uptake of alternative fuels such as auto LPG as compared to traditional carbon-based and heavily polluting petrol and diesel must drive the decarbonisation programme. Notably, auto LPG has a global warming potential (GWP) of zero as opposed to methane’s 25 and carbon dioxide’s 1. Moreover, not only does it produce a lower amount of carbon dioxides per unit of heat produced, with a low carbon-hydrogen ratio, it lets off negligible amounts of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Similarly, since India has seen rapid growth in freight road transport in recent decades on the back of rising demand for heavy duty vehicles, especially the ICE-based HDVs, there has been a spill-over effect in the form of higher demand for fossil fuels and thereby higher pollution. We need to contain this demand for HDVs, especially the long-range trucks and the resultant use of fossil fuels. (Gabriela Palai)
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2. Strive for full-fledged electrification of railways - Second and flowing from the first, we need to achieve full-fledged electrification of our railways. This would release the pressure and load on the freight road transport in the country. While 54% of conventional passenger demand and 65% of freight demand is today carried out on electrified railways, we need to invest more to increase this electrification footprint. (JJ Jordan)
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