Study sounds pollution death alert - In the air

The Telegraph , Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Correspondent :
New Delhi, June 27: India's annual toll of premature deaths from air pollution is likely to rise to 1.7 million over the next two decades despite planned initiatives to lower power sector and transport emissions, says a study that highlights the need for more action.

Released today by the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), the study cautions that rising incomes, urbanisation and industrialisation are raising energy consumption in India and worsening air pollution, which caused an estimated 1.6 million premature deaths in 2015.

The IEA has cited research estimates of 590,000 premature deaths in India linked to outdoor air pollution and about one million deaths from household air pollution caused by the burning of wood, biomass and kerosene. It said air pollution on average reduces life expectancy in India by about 23 months.

"The impacts of air pollution are concentrated in fast-growing Asia and in Africa, but no country has solved the problem entirely," FatihBirol, executive director of the IEA, said at a presentation of the study this morning.

"The overall death toll still rises, despite decarbonisation policies and targeted pollution measures."

The IEA has estimated that air pollution, which caused an estimated 6.5 million deaths worldwide in 2015, is the fourth largest threat to human health after high blood pressure, dietary risks and smoking.

Air quality will remain a concern through 2040 although the Indian government has announced initiatives to reduce emissions from thermal power plants and set timelines for Bharat VI standards for vehicles to reduce emissions of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen.

Even with these initiatives, the number of premature deaths from outdoor air pollution could grow to 900,000, although the number of premature deaths from household air pollution will drop to about 800,000 as the use of cleaner cook stoves expands, the study says.

However, under an alternative "Clean Air Scenario", in which every household has access to clean cooking, stringent emission norms are imposed on heavy-duty vehicles, and emissions from industry and transport are limited, premature deaths may decline to 560,000 from outdoor air pollution and 360,000 from household air pollution.

The IEA said that coal would exhibit much stronger absolute growth in India than any other source of power, with nearly 1,500 terawatt hours of additional power expected to be generated from coal by 2040. A terawatt equals a trillion watts.

The agency has cautioned that while the new environmental standards for emissions from coal-fired power plants are "stringent and achievable", they "will not be delivered without effective compliance that needs to be closely monitored at the plant level with penalties for non-compliance".

The study estimates that the cumulative investments needed to control emissions would be about $145 billion.

"The real challenge lies in finding ways to enable the generators investing in control technology to recoup the additional cost without which they are unlikely to be able to finance the investment," the IEA said.

"This is a big hurdle in India, where prices for power are heavily regulated and full cost recovery is not always guaranteed."

The agency has pointed out that the Narendra Modi government's Make in India initiative aimed at enhancing economic activity towards industry-led growth, while bringing multiple benefits, will also place additional demands on the energy sector.

A single unit of gross domestic product derived from the industrial sector typically uses 10 times as much energy as one created through the services sector.

 
SOURCE : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160628/jsp/nation/story_93662.jsp#.V3IQ77597IU
 


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