Environmental capacity could be a severe limiting factor for growth. There are just not enough streams, lakes, ponds, rivers or coastal marine areas where effluents can be discharged. Even if pollution grows only at 4 per cent with economic growth of 8 per cent, pollution loads can nearly double in 20 years, becoming unacceptably high. Pollution intensity, defined as pollution generated per rupee of gross domestic product, has to drop much faster: if India is to be among the top five world economies, it cannot stay 120th in the environmental performance index. India simply has to get its environmental act together and aim for targeted reduction of other pollutants to improve quality of air, water, soil, lakes, rivers, ponds, etc for its own citizens. A rough estimate suggests that 908 cities generate more than 38 billion litres of wastewater per day (BLD). Another 18 BLD is estimated to be generated by 65,000 polluting industries. Much of this flows untreated in rivers, lakes and coastal waters. We need to not only treat this waste water, but also reduce it considerably.

Prior to the Copenhagen conference, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced the goal of reducing carbon intensities, CO2/ GDP, by 25 per cent to 30 per cent by 2020 over 2005 levels. Moreover, there are already eight National Missions for Climate Change, announced by the Prime Minister’s Climate Council. Many other ministries such as power, renewable energy, and agriculture, are involved in the national climate missions to support a comprehensive approach to reducing carbon intensity. These steps were universally welcomed. Can we get similar promise to reduce local pollution intensities? Can similar attention be given to other pollutants that impact health today (as compared to after many decades)? This is not to say that climate change is not important. It is. It is only taken as a motivational example to show that when India is determined, many ways are found to get into action.

Further, there is a network of 80 institutions researching various aspects of climate change, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories. There are many scientists and institutions working on domestic pollution issues but they are not organised and not directed towards this goal of reducing domestic pollution intensities within a given period. Of course, GHGs are global pollutants, so India’s GHG emissions can be added to, say, Germany’s emissions, while one cannot “add” Delhi’s local air pollutants to Mumbai’s. This complicates the determination of pollution densities and baselines. But technical ways can be found to measure environmental performance — say, by deciding national maxima, averages and norms, monitoring how many times and where they are exceeded.

We must also generate baseline data for key pollutants, anticipating their growth trajectories coupled with economic growth, and identifying steps to reduce these — with known and anticipated technologies as well as steps for R&D that could transform the latter into reality.

To start, with the environment ministry in the lead, some of the ministries dealing with industries with high environmental impact need to bring out a white paper that documents their footprints. The white paper can address the following quantities and issues: What is the collective environmental footprints of the operational entities (refineries, steel factories, hotels) associated with each ministry? Many such sectoral studies are available for GHG reduction. What are some of the ways to reduce the footprints? We have to give the reduce-reuse-recycle paradigm similar status as we have given to renewable energy and climate change. Where could it be headed, if left unchecked? What loads would be added on what media, that is, air, water, soil, forests, pastures, etc? What are the available policy frameworks and the extent of regulations to reduce the loads? Can they cope with projected growth or are changes needed? How to engage operational entities and citizens and challenge them into delivering action plans?

When the people of India, especially the younger generation, express a desire for India to be a developed country, they indirectly imply better provision of basic needs such as food, water, education, health and clean environment. The environmental reforms are necessary to address this huge challenge because a business-as-usual approach will not do. The environment minister is in a similar position as Dr Manmohan Singh was in 1991 when he was the

finance minister. His leadership is essential in ensuring that the environment is not a bottleneck in India’s development.

The writer is executive director of Integrated Research and Action for Development, New Delhi