Vehicles in a traffic jam in New Delhi, on August 9.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The story so far: A recent report stated that India is home to 83 of the 100 most polluted cities in the world. Another report from the British Medical Journal estimated that air pollution led to the deaths of 2.1 million people in India, the second largest numbers after China. Over 99% of the population breathes air that is poorer than the recommended WHO standards.
How severe is air pollution?
The International Energy Associates estimates that 12% of India’s CO2 emissions are due to road transport, of which the vast majority of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 emissions are due to heavy vehicles. PM2.5 comprises pollutants, which, by being microscopic can reach the deepest parts of our lungs, and spill over to blood, thereby causing a range of respiratory and cardiovascular effects. Moreover, heavy vehicles contribute significantly to the emission of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), capable of causing similar health effects. NOx contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone, worsening impacts on air quality and heat, which further fuels air pollution in urban contexts. Several studies have indicated that heavy vehicles contribute to about 60-70% of the total vehicular PM emissions and about 40-50% of the total NOx emissions in urban areas.
What are some of the measures taken to combat air pollution?
With the transport industry growing at 9.1% per annum, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s (BEE) initiative in developing the draft Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) norms for cars in India is timely and laudable. The timelines to implement CAFE III from 2027-2032 and CAFE IV from 2032-2037 are practical. The commitment to shift from the Modified India Driving Cycle (MIDC) to the World Light Duty Vehicle Testing Procedure (WLTP) from March 31, 2027, is excellent because the WLTP offers a more accurate and globally harmonised measure of a vehicle’s actual fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The proposed emissions target for CAFE III based on the WLTP at 91.7g CO2/km and for CAFE IV at 70g CO2/km is achievable. Such stringent CO2 targets are essential for driving innovation and encouraging the adoption of cleaner technologies. In the interest of the health of our planet and citizens, these targets should be made non-negotiable. However, the CAFE norms exclude emissions by heavy vehicles such as trucks, lorries, and other freight vehicles.
What more can be done?
The government introduced a vehicle scrappage policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles, including heavy vehicles in 2022. It mandates that passenger vehicles older than 20 years and commercial vehicles older than 15 years must pass a “fitness and emissions test”. If vehicles fail the mandatory tests, they are categorised as end-of-life vehicles, and will lose their registration certificate, and are recommended to be scrapped. Yet this policy is yet to take off in Karnataka for two reasons: there are only two scrapyards for the entire State and it is voluntary. Most older vehicles in Bangalore are not four-wheelers but older BMTC buses, private vans, and heavy vehicles. Maharashtra is one among 21 States that have announced incentives such as discounts on road tax or on a new private vehicle purchase to encourage scrapping but this is yet to have far-reaching impacts on air pollution in the State. Policymakers must ensure that the guidelines do not remain exemplary in the letter alone.
Existing policies of the government to combat air pollution such as the testing of vehicles at regular intervals to ensure they are within emission limits, banning open garbage burning, and checking industrial emissions need to be implemented with the greatest stringency. While we welcome the government’s efforts to curb air pollution, we also strongly suggest that mass transit is the only sustainable method of tackling air pollution in India.
Lancelot Mark Pinto is a pulmonologist at P. D. Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai and a public health policy advocate. Sreeparna Chattopadhyay is with TAPMI, Manipal Bangalore and is a medical anthropologist.
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