Economic Arguments on Pollution: Consider Huge Health Cost

India is choking under heavy pollution. The Global Carbon budget ranks the country the fourth highest emitter of carbon dioxide, the ICMR attributes one in eight deaths in India to air pollution and the WHO blames pollution for killing the highest number of under 5 children in India. India has 14 out of 15 world’s most polluted cities in terms of PM2.5 concentration. During analyze pollution scientifically, the sources of pollution vary for every country. In India, one of the most vulnerable nations, the main sources are very clear- waste incineration, vehicular emissions, large dependency on coal to generate power and lack of energy efficiency systems in residential buildings and industries. The good thing is that the government has done well in identifying these sources.

Pollution from the thermal sector, from which the India draws nearly 79% of its power needs, has been debated over decades. The Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) data reveals an upsurge in coal consumption by power plants. India is going slow on shunning coal. There is an urgent need to have an energy transition. If policy makers declare that dependency on coal will stay for sometime, the critical question is for how long dependency will be maintained and how quickly the government wants to do the transition. India is not the only country in the world struggling with meeting power demands and reducing use of fossil fuels, there are others too.

When engaged in the economic arguments, it is important to consider the health cost which too is huge. India should look at how some countries have achieved the transition, despite coal being the prime source of energy for some of those regions. Look at the countries like Norway; they are moving very quickly towards renewable energy and are still the richest. The Indian policy makers need to realize that the more they wait, the more they will lose on economy with public health being a big casualty. The government has always been shy of attributing deaths to air pollution. It has been dismissed scientific reports as ‘inconclusive’. But scientists, technicians are arguing about methodologies and other technicalities about high levels of pollution in India, which is getting into people’s lungs and cardiovascular system. India still has a large population relying on fossil fuels, charcoal and wood for cooking. However, the government has taken this seriously and the transition towards cleaner alternatives like LPG is taking place. The government should multiply the transition at a bigger scale.

India need to use all their intellectual and political capacity to invest in actions rather than playing with methodologies or challenging monitoring systems. The actions for India are very well known: ‘Increasing access to clean energy sources at the household level, using effective technologies for incineration particularly for agricultural crops. A revolution is also needed in public transport systems. And, of course, transition towards renewables. India has the technology, the best minds. There will be a cleaner change with political willingness and resources.

Matter Referenced:  Times of India, Ahmedabad, Monday, 10th December, 2018.

By: Dr. Bhawana Asnani.

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