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Trams in Kolkata a boon, not a bane, argue green activists

Transport experts have voiced their dissent against the plan to shut down tramways in Kolkata. The brakes on trams was initiated by the Left Front government in West Bengal in the ’90s and is about to be implemented by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government. Over the past three decades, climate change and environmental considerations have worked towards a comeback for trams — an environment-friendly mode of transport. Kolkata, however, seems to be moving on the opposite track — with West Bengal transport minister Snehasish Chakrabarty informing Calcutta High Court about its decision to stop tram services in an affidavit linked to an ongoing case about trams. The plan is to discontinue the 150-year-old tramways in Kolkata. Only the heritage route along the Maidan will be retained. The minister reasoned the government’s decision was based on the commuters’ demand for faster modes of transport, as well as to counter congestion caused by the slow-moving trams. Transport experts have voiced their dissent against the plan to shut down tramways in Kolkata. The brakes on trams was initiated by the Left Front government in West Bengal in the ’90s and is about to be implemented by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government. Over the past three decades, climate change and environmental considerations have worked towards a comeback for trams — an environment-friendly mode of transport. ADVERTISEMENT Kolkata, however, seems to be moving on the opposite track — with West Bengal transport minister Snehasish Chakrabarty informing Calcutta High Court about its decision to stop tram services in an affidavit linked to an ongoing case about trams. The plan is to discontinue the 150-year-old tramways in Kolkata. Only the heritage route along the Maidan will be retained. The minister reasoned the government’s decision was based on the commuters’ demand for faster modes of transport, as well as to counter congestion caused by the slow-moving trams. ADVERTISEMENT Ads by The decision has been countered by both environmentalists and transport experts. In a recent meeting held in Kolkata, environment, transport and urban development experts decided to set up a committee involving key transport and environmental experts across the country. “We will come up with an interim report within a month if possible; and the detailed report will take longer,” said a person associated with the process. “Trams should not be seen as a heritage transport in Kolkata, but as an effective node in its transport infrastructure like in so many other cities in the world,” said Bhargab Maitra, a transport expert and professor at IIT Kharagpur. “The concerns of the government and commuters can be addressed effectively through detailed techno-management studies”. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, an air pollution and transport expert with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said there is no conflict between real estate and tramways. “It is possible to integrate real estate development on tram land alongside tramways, as is being done in Hong Kong and elsewhere,” she said. Tram activists allege that the major driver behind the decision to withdraw service is the sprawling land available in the heart of the city where the eight tram depots stand. The prize land could fetch hundreds of crores for the cash-starved state government. “Parts of several depots have already been handed over to private entities and the latest step has been taken to expedite the process,” said Mahadeb Shi, secretary of Calcutta Tram Users Association (CTUA), which has moved court in 2022 to save the tramways. Roychoudhury argued that trams can hardly be blamed for traffic congestion. Instead, it creates none of the problems associated with carbon intensive transport infrastructure. “There is no evidence that roads with trams face more congestion compared to those that do not have trams,” said Roychoudhury. “We are adding 87,000 vehicles a year and if we do not encourage mass public transport like trams, the city will soon just cease to move.” Tathagata Chatterjee, another ace urban development expert, presented several examples across the world to underline how trams have made a comeback not only for environmental reasons but also as an effective transport mode.

हरियाणा में पराली जलाने के 127 मामले आए सामने, 7 जिलों में सबसे अधिक 84 फीसदी घटनाएं दर्ज

हरियाणा में पराली जलाने के मामले में गिरावट आई है. 15 सितंबर से 6 अक्टूबर के बीच प्रदेश में पराली जलाने के कुल 127 मामले दर्ज किए गए हैं. इनमें से 84 फीसदी घटनाएं सिर्फ 7 जिलों में सामने आई हैं. भारतीय कृषि अनुसंधान संस्थान (IARI) की ओर से जारी आंकड़ों के मुताबिक, पिछले साल इसी अवधि के दौरान हरियाणा में पराली जलाने के 190 मामले सामने आए थे. लेकिन साल 2022 और 2021 में पराली जलाने की घटनाएं क्रमशः 48 और 24 दर्ज की गई थीं. खास बात यह है कि इस साल इन 127 मामलों में से 107 मामले सात जिलों में हुए हैं. करनाल में सबसे अधिक 37 आग लगने की घटनाएं हुईं. इसके बाद कुरुक्षेत्र में 27, कैथल में 9, अंबाला में 9, फरीदाबाद में 9, सोनीपत में 8 और यमुनानगर में 8 मामले सामने आए हैं. द टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, विशेषज्ञों का कहना है कि हरियाणा, पंजाब और यूपी में नवंबर से सितंबर महीने के दौरान ज्यादा रबी फसलों की बुवाई की जाती है. ऐसे में इस दौरान पराली जलाने के ज्यादा मामले सामने आने की आशंका है. सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की कार्यकारी निदेशक अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी ने कहा है कि सरकार ने खेतों में पराली जलाने की घटनाओं को कम करने के लिए कदम सही उठाए हैं, लेकिन उन्होंने जोर देकर कहा कि अभी और भी कदम उठाए जाने की जरूरत है. सरकार दे रही है किसानों को सब्सिडी उन्होंने कहा कि राज्य सरकारें पराली जलाने की घटनाओं को खत्म करने के लिए किसानों को सब्सिडी दे रही हैं. लेकिन इसके बावजूद भी कुछ और उपाय किए जाने की जरूरत है. हरियाणा में किसानों को अपनी जमीन की जुताई में मदद करने के लिए करीब 90,000 मशीनें हैं. अगर किसान चाहें, तो इन मशीनों से पराली प्रबंधन कर सकते हैं. वहीं, सरकारों को भी यह सुनिश्चित करना चाहिए कि यह तकनीक सीमांत किसानों तक भी पहुंच सके. चौधरी के अनुसार, राज्य सरकार को एजेंसियों के लिए फसल अवशेष खरीदने के लिए बाजार भी बनाना चाहिए, ताकि किसानों को इसे जलाने से रोका जा सके. 469 गांवों में मशीनों का वितरण हालांकि, वैज्ञानिकों ने इस समस्या से निपटने के लिए जिला नियोजन अभ्यासों पर आधारित इन-सीटू और एक्स-सीटू प्रबंधन तकनीकों की आवश्यकता पर भी जोर दिया है. इस बीच, एक अधिकारी ने दावा किया कि सरकार ने 469 गांवों में किसानों को रियायती दरों पर मशीनें उपलब्ध कराई हैं, जो इसके द्वारा पहचाने गए 12 हॉटस्पॉट जिलों का हिस्सा थे. इस वर्ष के सरकारी आंकड़ों से पता चलता है कि राज्य में 38.9 लाख एकड़ में धान उगाया जाता है, जिससे अनुमानित 81 लाख टन फसल अवशेष उत्पन्न होते हैं. किसान इसलिए जलाते हैं पराली अधिकारी ने कहा कि किसान आमतौर पर अपने खेतों को साफ करने और उन्हें अगली फसल के लिए तैयार करने के लिए फसल अवशेष जलाते हैं. लेकिन इससे पर्यावरण प्रदूषण का स्तर बढ़ जाता है और कई स्वास्थ्य संबंधी खतरे पैदा होते हैं. अधिकारी ने कहा कि फसल अवशेष जलाने का मुख्य कारण चावल की कटाई और अगली फसल की बुवाई के बीच का समय कम होना है. हमने पूरे राज्य में मशीनें तैनात की हैं. उनके अधिक से अधिक उपयोग की भी योजना बनाई गई है.

सोलन में प्रवक्ताओं के लिए पर्यावरण जागरूकता पर तीन दिवसीय प्रशिक्षण 8 अक्टूबर से

राज्य शैक्षिक एवं अनुसंधान प्रशिक्षण परिषद सोलन, हिमाचल प्रदेश पर्यावरण जागरूकता पर तीन दिवसीय प्रशिक्षण कार्यशाला आयोजित करवा रही है। यह प्रशिक्षण कार्यक्रम 8 अक्टूबर से 10 अक्टूबर तक चलेगा। तीन दिवसीय प्रशिक्षण कार्यक्रम में प्रदेश भर के अलग-अलग विषयों के 50 प्रवक्ता भाग लेंगे। ये रहेगा उदेश्य : राज्य शैक्षिक अनुसंधान एवं प्रशिक्षण परिषद सोलन में पर्यावरण जागरूकता प्रशिक्षण कार्यक्रम के समन्वयक डॉ.राम गोपाल शर्मा ने बताया कि पर्यावरण चिंतन एवं उस पर कार्य करना वैश्विक विषय है, जिसमें भारत अग्रणी भूमिका निभा रहा है। इस कार्यक्रम का मुख्य उद्देश्य पर्यावरण चिंतन, शिक्षण, व्यवहार तथा जागरूकता के विभिन्न नवीनतम विमर्शों एवं उसको कैसे छात्रों तथा समुदाय के मध्य ले जाना है रहेगा। ये रहेंगे प्रमुख विषय तथा विषय विशेषज्ञ पर्यावरण जागरूकता प्रशिक्षण कार्यक्रम में विमर्श के विषयों में पर्यावरण और विज्ञान के क्षेत्र में कार्य करने वाली अंतर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर की संस्था सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट दिल्ली के दो विशेषज्ञ नीरज कुमार और साक्षी उनियाल -जलवायु परिवर्तन के राष्ट्रीय एवं अंतर्राष्ट्रीय परिप्रेक्ष्य: हिमाचल विशेष के संदर्भ में तथा सतत विकास लक्ष्य,भारत में पर्यावरण शिक्षा: विहंगम दृष्टि एवं राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति 2020 और राष्ट्रीय पाठ्यचर्या 2023, ग्रीन स्कूल कार्यक्रम: हिमाचल विशेष के सम्बन्ध में तथा स्कूलों में सतत आत्मनिर्भरता पर चर्चा करेंगे।

How to Make Lunch That Survives Climate Catastrophe

Earlier, the sight of rain soothed our eyes. Now, we just pray for it to stop.” Thus speaks a farmer in the Malayalam survival drama 2018 in one of the film’s most poignant moments after calamitous rains—heaviest in nearly a century—wreaks havoc in the state of Kerala. The Kerala flood of August 2018 was a near-apocalyptic event. More than 400 people died. Entire towns were submerged. And thousands of acres of farmland went underwater. Then came a drought. Water levels in ponds and rivers sinked to their lowest levels. Many wells collapsed. The floods had washed off the topsoil in the hills, and they could no longer store rainwater. Six years later, in the misty hills of Wayanad in east Kerala, rains struck again. This time the impact was localised; yet immense. Another 400 people died. Whole villages were lost without a trace. Climate and the Crops The floods devastated agriculture in the region. The worst hit was rice paddy. More than 26,000 hectares of farmland where rice was grown was inundated. Plantations of tea, cardamom, black pepper and rubber were destroyed following landslides in the districts of Nilambur, Malappuram and Kalikavu. These events happened in Kerala. But the risks are present everpresent everywhere. India experienced extreme climate events on 318 out of 365 days in 2023, according to a report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a research organisation based in New Delhi. A World Bank report in 2023 said rising temperatures and changing monsoon rainfall can cause India to lose 2.8% of its gross domestic product (GDP). A World Economic Forum (WEF) report says India lost 33.9 million hectares of crops to excess rain and 35 million hectares to drought between 2015 and 2021. This in a country where agriculture employs 40% of the population, 70% among rural households. When Disaster Strikes Governments both at the Centre and states are waking up to these realities. In the Union Budget presented in July, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is reviewing how agriculture research happens in the country and will realign it to create more climate-resilient crops.

Pivotal shift in move to tackle AMR

The world has finally decided to move with fresh impetus in its fight against the “silent pandemic” – antimicrobial resistance (AMR). At a high-level meeting of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly2024, the world body has presented a political declaration that heralds a major shift in the global response to the crisis of AMR – by moving the focus on to ‘prevention’ in agri-food systems. The political declaration by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) antimicrobial resistance (AMR) focuses now on ‘prevention’ in agri-food systems, something that CSE has been calling for. “The declaration is a huge step ahead,” says Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and member, Global Leaders Group (GLG) on AMR. She was among the global leaders who addressed the meeting. “We are pleased to note the text related to agriculture and animal health. It very well recognises the need and importance of preventive measures, which is the best bet for low- and middle-income countries which otherwise cannot afford the cost of containing AMR,” she said. Compared to the political declaration of 2016, this declaration marks a big positive shift in the way the world wants to address AMR from agri-food systems. It is a huge step forward. It shows that there is political leadership and global leadership for an issue that will need global cooperation for action. AMR is increasingly being recognised as one of the biggest threats to global public health, and is expected to disproportionately impact low-and middle-income countries. Existing antibiotics are becoming ineffective, the pipeline of new antibiotics is near-dry, and access to both old and new antibiotics is a big concern. What says the declaration The text under the agriculture and animal health section of the declaration clearly acknowledges the need to prioritise and fund the implementation of measures to prevent and control infections and ensure prudent antibiotic use such as through promoting good animal husbandry practices, agriculture practices and animal health. It outlines key drivers that lead to inappropriate use of antimicrobials in animals and plants, and encourages prudent and responsible use of antimicrobials, when used prophylactically by adopting an ambitious, incremental and country-specific approach. “In a first, the need for ambitiously moving towards prudent and responsible use of antimicrobials when used for the purpose of disease prevention is acknowledged at this level,” said Amit Khurana, director, sustainable food systems programme of CSE. “Despite being a big concern, such non-therapeutic use and chemical-based prevention had failed to receive adequate attention at the global level so far. We are pleased to note the change in narrative,” he added. The text also recognises the impact of antibiotic growth promoters on antimicrobial resistance and the need to phase out the use of medically important antibiotics for growth promotion. The world appears to agree more on the need to conserve critically important antibiotics for human health atleast by not allowing their use as growth promoters in animals. The declaration also commits to strive to ‘meaningfully reduce’, by 2030, the quantity of antimicrobials used globally in the agri-food system from the current level by taking into account national contexts and by investing in animal and plant health, reducing the need for and inappropriate use of antibiotics, investing in and promoting alternatives, stewardship and animal health systems. This was only the second time that the global response to the crisis of AMR was discussed in the UNGA. The theme of the meeting was ‘Investing in the present and securing our future together: accelerating multi-sectoral global, regional and national actions to address antimicrobial resistance. Earlier, in April 2024, the Global Leaders Group on AMR had proposed two targets -- by 2030, reduce the quantity of antimicrobials used in the agri-food system globally by at least 30-50 per cent from the current level; by 2030, eliminate the use of medically important antimicrobials for human medicine in animals for non-veterinary medical purposes, or in crop production and agri-food systems for non-phytosanitary purposes. In her address to the world community gathered at the UNGA, Narain said: “AMR will require us to rethink the ways in which we do agriculture, the way environment is managed so that we can minimise impact. This is where our agendas of conservation, development, environment and most importantly, prevention, have to come from.” “Nobody is safe until everybody is safe,” she added. “This is what underpins the political declaration that we have been part of, and which we now need to act on. This silent pandemic is a war we must win.” (CSE)

New Delhi will never solve its air pollution problem with its myopic view

Without a sustained implementation strategy and economically feasible alternatives, the ban on stubble burning will be as ineffective as the plastic ban The CAQM, the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, constituted in 2021for better coordination, identification and resolution of air quality index in New Delhi, has been repeatedly admonished by the Sup... Penal action at the grassroot level has failed in India. Remember, in 2022, India brought into effect the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules (2021) that banned 19 categories of ‘single-use plastics’(SUP). Yet, thanks to lax supervision and a reluctance by small businesses to embrace non-plastic alternatives the law has become toothless in a country that generates about 5.5 million tonnes of SUP waste annually, according to a report by the New Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

We Can't Cut Down Coal Immediately; Instead We Should Phase Out Thermal Power: Montek Ahluwalia

As the United Kingdome (UK) officially shut down its last remaining coal power plant on Monday, policy experts said coal will continue to be a part of India's energy mix for the next few decades, given that it is still a developing country with significant energy needs. By closing its last coal power plant, the UK has become the first G7 nation to do so amid calls for a global coal-free energy system by 2040. The world's first coal power plant opened in London in 1882, and until 2012, coal accounted for 39 per cent of the UK's electricity generation. Global energy think tank Ember said the closure of the UK's last coal plant means that more than a third of OECD countries are now coal-free, with three-quarters expected to eliminate coal power by 2030, in line with global climate goals aimed at limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) ‘Net Zero by 2050’ report recommends that developed countries phase out unabated coal by 2030, while developing countries should aim to do so by 2040 to remain on track for global net-zero emissions by 2050. The term "unabated" in this context refers to electricity production that does not use technologies designed to capture and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These developments occur as developed countries push their counterparts in the developing world to accelerate the phase-down of unabated coal power. India, the world's second-largest consumer of coal for electricity generation after China, saw the share of coal-fired power generation rise to 75 per cent in 2023-24 from 71 per cent in 2019-20. According to the IEA, while coal consumption fell in Europe and the US in 2023, it rose by eight per cent in India and five per cent in China. That said, India's coal usage for power generation began several decades later than that of developed nations. While the UK's first coal power plant opened in 1882, India established its first major thermal power plant, the Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station in Hyderabad, in 1920. Policy experts opine that India is focusing on a long-term energy transition, where coal will continue to be part of the energy mix for the next few decades. Sunil Dahiya, an independent analyst, said that while coal will not disappear in the near future, India must reduce harmful emissions from the sector by deploying advanced air pollution control technologies and improving efficiency to curb carbon emissions. According to climate activist Harjeet Singh, India has made remarkable progress in renewable energy, but the intermittent nature of these sources and the lack of scalable battery storage mean that coal still underpins its power supply and industries like steel and cement. "Yet, the cost of coal goes far beyond emissions -- it destroys ecosystems, displaces communities, and deepens environmental injustice. India must urgently shift away from coal, and the international community must provide the financial and technological support needed for a just transition -- for both people and the planet," he said. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former deputy chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission, said in a recent webinar organized by the think tank Centre for Social and Economic Progress that India can't cut down coal immediately and it is hypocritical in the west to focus solely on coal while ignoring oil and natural gas. "However, if we are going to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, we must recognise that we need to phase out thermal power. We should indicate to the world that India's emissions will increase for a while, then peak, and eventually decline. Right now, there's a lot of misunderstanding in the west about India's willingness to reduce emissions, which is not true," he said. Sunita Narain, the director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, echoed similar sentiments, saying that India is currently dependent on coal, as it remains the cheapest form of energy available. "We need to talk about a different future for coal. We must clean up coal -- not just for climate change but also for local air pollution. We will still need to invest, and that's where the world needs a conversation." India has repeatedly emphasised that it is still a developing country with significant energy needs and that coal remains a crucial part of its energy mix because it is a reliable and affordable source of electricity. It argues that developed countries have historically contributed more to greenhouse gas emissions, having relied on fossil fuels for their economic development. Therefore, developed nations should take the lead in reducing emissions while allowing developing countries more time to transition to cleaner energy sources. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had said earlier that the country is committed to meeting the energy needs of its population and "will also have to rely on coal power until it achieves developed country status". He said the nation cannot solely depend on "importing oil and gas" to meet its energy demands.

India’s air, water, land are all polluted. The government has failed to tackle this, says a new book

Indian factories and cities unload pollutants and untreated organic material into our rivers, lakes and ponds. This makes their water unfit for drinking or bathing or both, depending on the extent of pollution. More than 320 out of 521 rivers monitored for water quality by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2016 were found to be polluted (whose water is not fit for drinking). A 2015 CPCB report found that the number of polluted rivers in India increased from 121 to 275, and to 351 in 2018. In 2019, as per the World Air Quality Report, India had the highest population-weighted annual average particulate matter (PM)2.5 exposure in the world at 83.2 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) of air. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) safe limit for weighted annual average PM2.5 exposure is only 10 µg/m3. India was in the least healthy category of exposure, between 75 and 85 µg/m3. Over the period 2010–19, the country had seen the third-highest increase in exposure after Nigeria and Bangladesh at 6.5 µg/m3 over this period. India’s general quality of air suggests a state of emergency. India’s air, water and environment are all severely polluted. Modi 2.0 needed to address the pollution problem as an emergency. Control of the pollution scheme did not make much difference The Control of Pollution scheme has been operational since 2018. The main objectives of the scheme are to monitor air quality across the country and take appropriate mitigation measures, besides monitoring water quality and noise levels. There are four components of the scheme: financial Assistance for Abatement of Pollution (AAP) to the weaker state pollution control boards/ pollution control committees (SPCBs/PCCs) and to the central pollution control board (CPCB), Managing the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), Measuring quality through the Environmental Monitoring Network Programme (EMNP), and Conducting related research and outreach programmes. Actual expenditure under the CoP scheme was Rs 599.91 crore in 2022– 23 and pegged at Rs 848 crore in 2023–24 RE. The expenditure under the programme has gradually increased from Rs 409 crore in 2019–20. The funds under the scheme are essentially released to the CPCB, which, in turn, passes on most of it to the state pollution control boards. The funds under the AAP component are spent on pollution abatement activities, including pollution assessment – source monitoring, monitoring of ambient air, water and noise, conducting technical studies and the like. This component functions more as maintenance of the system created to monitor quality. The NCAP component, initiated in January 2019, supports a more focused intervention. The objective was to improve air quality in 131 select cities by reducing the PM10 concentration over the baseline 2017 by 20–30 per cent by 2024 (later revised to 40 per cent by 2025–26 relative to base year 2019–20). A total of 885 stations have been made operational to monitor air quality in these 131 cities. The MoEFCC Annual Report 2023–24 reports that city-level action plans had been prepared for all the cities. Further, ninety cities showed improvement in air quality in 2022–23 compared to base 2017 and fifteen cities conformed to national ambient air quality standards compared with six cities in 2017. Unfortunately, the extent of improvement in these ninety cities, even after the programme had run for more than four years, was not specified. Admittedly, in the forty-one remaining cities, the air quality deteriorated or stayed stagnant. Environment Ministry kept diluting/postponing standards for thermal power plants The MoEFCC notified eighty-one standards across industries, including for major polluting industries, such as thermal power plants, sugar industry, cement industry and fertilizer industry, among others. The implementation of standards, however, was not that satisfactory. A case in point is the notification of stringent emissions limits issued for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, mercury and water usage in coal-based thermal power plants. The standards were first notified in 2015 and were to be complied with by 2017. In 2017, the power plants were granted a five-year extension (till December 2022) to meet the deadlines in a phased manner. Eleven plants in Delhi-NCR were to comply with the norms by 2019. The MoEFCC kept diluting the standards after extending the deadline to 2019/2022. In June 2018, the water norms for units installed after January 2017 were diluted from 2.5 m3/MWh to 3 m3/MWh. In May 2019, the nitrogen oxide (NOx) norms for units installed in 2004–16 were diluted from 300 mg/ Nm3 to 450 mg/Nm3. In March 2021, the MoEFCC issued a notification specifying new deadlines for compliance, with the norms based on the location of the coal thermal power plants. In September 2022, the MoEFCC further extended the sulphur oxide (SOx) standards deadline to 2024. There was only limited progress in making the thermal coal plants comply with the environmental standards, diluted notably in the nine years ending March 2024. Commission on Air Quality made little difference to Delhi’s air pollution The government, in a bid to deal with the rising air pollution in Delhi-NCR, first brought an ordinance on 29 October 2020 – the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020 – to put in place an oversight body which would have functions, including laying down parameters of air quality and environmental pollutants, to inspect premises violating the law and ordering closure of non-abiding industries/plants. After a little flip-flop in which the Commission was denotified, a statutory commission was constituted on 23 April 2021 through the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021. The adjoining areas where the act is in force include Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and adjoining areas of the NCR region and Delhi, where any source of pollution is located and is causing an adverse impact on air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR). As per a press release issued by the government in 2023, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) did undertake “considerable action” for the prevention and control of air pollution in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas, which resulted in “general improvements in the AQI level” of the NCT Delhi. The press release further informed that the commission adopted an airshedlike approach and issued a comprehensive policy to curb air pollution in the NCR in July 2022. The policy has sector-wise action plans for the prevention and control of air pollution in the region by various sectors contributing to air pollution. The commission also issued seventy-eight directions and eleven advisories, besides many executive orders to various agencies concerned in the NCR, including the state governments of Punjab, NCTD and various bodies of the central and the state governments in the region. Separately, a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was formulated and notified by the MoEFCC in January 2017 on the recommendation of CPCB for Delhi-NCR to tackle the issue of a sudden rise in air pollution levels. A comprehensive review of actions listed under GRAP was carried out by CPCB in 2020. Based on these inputs, the revised GRAP was published by the CAQM and further action was taken for its implementation. While the government claimed improvement in air quality, the winter of 2023–24 witnessed the worst air pollution in Delhi and NCR. The “End of Winter Report 2023–24: Spread and scale of air pollution crisis in India’ issued by the Centre for Science and Environmental Analysis, noted that the ‘toxic air pollution came back to trouble the public yet again this winter”. The air quality began to worsen much earlier than usual due to low rains in September–October and was made even worse due to low wind speed throughout the season. The report concluded that North and East India remained the most polluted regions of the country. The “air quality in North India was significantly worse this winter compared to the previous winter”. There was no improvement in the quality of air in Delhi, the seat of the Modi government, during 2019–24.

Byrnihat in Meghalaya, Begusarai in Bihar more polluted than Delhi

Byrnihat in Meghalaya remained the most polluted town all of 2023 and most of 2024, more polluted than Delhi and any other city in the plains, reported TOI. Clusters of small industries are choking Byrnihat, the report said, adding that spread across the Meghalaya-Assam border, the town is an industrial area, home to clusters of small-scale units producing ferroalloys, tyres and tubes, cement and polythene items. The close proximity in which these industries operate results in Byrnihat’s noxious pollution levels, the outlet said. “Since it’s on the border of two states, it witnesses huge interstate truck movement. As a result, the emission levels are high,” Sunil Dahiya, analyst at Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) told TOI. Byrnihat is also representative of India’s under-studied and under-attended air pollution problem in cities beyond Delhi, especially tiers II and III. In the 2023 overall pollution index, Delhi, in fact, was at eighth spot. Begusarai in Bihar was second after Byrnihat. Other places more polluted than the Capital in 2023, were all small cities, and among them, only Greater Noida is in the NCR. For Byrnihat, the trend has continued into 2024, with the northeast town consistently ranking number one, the TOI report noted. Ahead of winter pollution, revised graded action plan to be on from October 1 The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) updated the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on September 17, 2024. The plan was first notified in January 2017 for Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas, reported DTE. The outlet noted that initially, focus of the GRAP implementation was based on PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. Now it has been based on the city’s air quality index (AQI) levels, which are calculated based on the eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ground-level ozone, ammonia and lead). The report pointed out that the severity of pollution for implementation of GRAP has been categorised into four stages, based on Delhi’s AQI levels: Stage I — ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II — ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III — ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV — ‘Severe+’ (AQI > 450). Each stage outlines specific actions that must be implemented to curb pollution levels. The outlet said earlier, the actions were implemented when the air quality was at a dangerous mark (Very Poor, Severe or Severe+) levels for three consecutive days. The new system developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research forecasts the pollution levels for the following three days, which helps the government to take pre-emptive actions. The new additions related to vehicular emissions include the Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management developed by IITM provides data on real-time source apportionment of PM2.5. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysed the DSS data showing that around half of Delhi’s particulate pollution during winter months come from vehicles. PM2.5 pollution dipped slightly in India but remains top health threat: Study India’s particulate pollution fell from 51.3 in 2021 to 41.4 μg/m³ in 2022, adding one year to the country’s average life expectancy, said the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) annual Air Quality Life Index 2024 report, which added that despite this decline, the annual average particulate pollution level in most areas exceeds WHO guidelines, reported Mongabay. The outlet reported that in districts home to cities covered by India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), PM2.5 concentrations declined by 19% on average, and in the districts not covered by the programme this stood at 16%. The report noted that the most significant drop in particulate pollution in 2022 occurred in the Purulia and Bankura districts of West Bengal and the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, with pollution levels dropping by over 20 μg/m³ in each of these areas. However, South Asia continues to be the world’s most polluted region, the AQLI report said, adding that of the total life years lost globally to high pollution, South Asia accounts for 45%. Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan are among the most polluted countries in the world. Mercedes Benz served notice from Maharashtra pollution board German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz received a notice from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), accusing the company of violating environmental pollution rules, NDTV reported. The report said clarifiers and centrifuge units in the sewage treatment plant were not working and the company’s failure to comply with the requirement to install emission control devices for diesel engines was also the reason for the pollution control board action. “Sub-divisional officers of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board had inspected Mercedes Benz’s Chakan plant (100 acres, near Pune). Several pollution rules were found to be violated in it. Therefore, the company has been issued a notice and asked to respond within 15 days,” said Jagannath Salunkhe, the regional officer of the state pollution control board was quoted as saying in the report. Stick to 27 point air pollution guidelines, Mumbai builders told ahead of winter Mumbai’s municipal corporation (BMC) directed builders to adhere to the 27-point guidelines for the mitigation of air pollution ahead of winter after air quality worsened in October 2023 and had remained in the moderate and poor category for some time thereafter, reported TOI. The newspaper reported that civic officials asked members of the construction industry to minutely check their activities and ensure that all measures are carried out, including the procurement of necessary paraphernalia for maintaining air quality around their sites. The developers were also told to develop a green perspective in their projects and made aware of the heat spots in the city. The report explained that in 2019, 133 of 182 days were bad air quality days, while in 2023, the number of bad days increased to 162. The outlet pointed out that after the air quality declined in October 2023, the government released the 27-point guidelines for the mitigation of air pollution. A large number of construction sites were inspected, stop-work notices and sealing action were carried out at construction and infrastructure project sites, including those of Metro contractors and various other government agencies. Besides, penalties were also imposed on construction sites. The civic body even washed city roads. Incomplete biomass combustion, traffic fuel pollute Delhi the most: CPCB to green court Incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, including those in traffic, contributed most to air pollution in the national capital, said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its reply to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), according to TOI. The NGT had earlier sought the board’s reply regarding air pollution in Delhi from sources, such as incomplete combustion of various fuels, biomass burning, vehicular pollution, especially from old and poorly maintained vehicles and usage of coal. The CPCB said it conducted a study, which attributed “incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, including traffic, as the dominant contributor to OP (oxidative potential of particulate material)”.OP reflects the health effects of exposure to airborne particulate material (PM), which is a mixture of solids, chemicals, liquids and aerosols. The newspaper cited CPCB report noting that ammonium chloride, and organic aerosols from traffic exhaust, residential heating, and oxidation of unsaturated vapours from fossil fuels were the dominant PM sources inside Delhi. About incomplete burning of biomass such as crop stubble, the report said, “A scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for providing subsidy for purchase of crop residue management machinery and establishment of custom hiring centres in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and NCT of Delhi.” It said the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had issued directions for co-firing of 5-10 per cent biomass with coal in thermal power plants located within 300 km of Delhi, and in captive power plants of industrial units located in NCR.

How global push to phase out antibiotic use in agri-food sectors will boost India’s fight against AMR

The Indian scientific community has hailed the recent consensus by global political leaders to phase out the use of medically significant antibiotics in the agriculture and food production sectors. For India, it is a crucial step in addressing the country’s growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi change over time, and are no longer susceptible to the common medicines used to treat them. It is a serious global public health crisis. The aforementioned decision was rolled out on 26 September, as part of the political declaration of the second High-Level Meeting on AMR, during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). “Compared to the political declaration of 2016, this declaration marks a big positive shift in the way the world wants to address AMR from agri-food systems. It is a huge step forward,” Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based environment research and advocacy organisation, said in a statement. India, one of the signatory countries to the UN declaration, introduced its National Action Plan on AMR (NAP-AMR) in April 2017, shortly after the UN’s first High-Level Meeting on AMR in 2016. Despite having an existing action plan, India continues to report cases of alarming rises in superbugs, which are pathogens resistant to multiple antibiotics and are extremely difficult to treat. This issue was found in 21 of the country’s leading hospitals between 2017 and 2023, according to the annual report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)’s Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Surveillance Network (IAMRSN) released last month. Findings from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project, published in The Lancet last month, showed that India recorded between 3 and 10.4 lakh deaths in 2019 due to bacterial antimicrobial resistance. The first analysis of the global burden of AMR, the GRAM project is a partnership between the University of Oxford and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. “India faces a dual challenge—on the one hand, a large part of the population lacks access to affordable antibiotics, while on the other, we see the overuse and misuse of these drugs in human health, food animals, and agriculture,” Amit Khurana, programme director of sustainable food systems at CSE, told ThePrint in an email.

Rwanda to restore 1,000 wetlands as report highlights water crisis in Africa

The government has committed to conserving nearly 1,000 wetlands, including the restoration of those severely degraded by human activities. This initiative aims to ensure a stable water supply for various needs across the country. The commitment comes in the wake of the State of Africa's Environment 2024 report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which warns that poor water resource management is intensifying the water crisis across Africa’s urban and rural areas. ALSO READ: Over 40% of Rwanda’s wetlands ‘lost their pristine nature’ Faustin Munyazikwiye, Deputy Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), spoke to The New Times about the causes of water crises, pointing specifically to wetland degradation. "In 2001/2002, Rwanda faced an electricity shortage, leading to a surge in the use of diesel generators. The primary hydropower plant had diminished capacity, and we discovered that the root cause was the destruction of the Rugezi wetland, which supplied water to that hydropower plant," Munyazikwiye explained. ALSO READ: Wetland degradation undermines water supply The degradation of the Rugezi wetland not only disrupted clean water supplies but also impacted hydropower generation. Water from the Rugezi wetland feeds the Ntaruka and Mukungwa hydropower plants via Lakes Burera and Ruhondo, as well as the Mukungwa River. By 2004, water levels in these lakes had fallen by 50%, forcing the country to spend over $65,000 per day on diesel fuel to compensate for the electricity shortfall. “That was a significant setback to our renewable energy targets,” Munyazikwiye said, stressing the importance of restoring the wetland to address the crisis. ALSO READ: How Rwanda is faring in wetlands restoration In response, the government took decisive action. The Rugezi wetland was designated a Ramsar site in 2005, becoming a fully protected area. From 2006 to 2010, the government rehabilitated the wetland, including demarcating buffer zones and watersheds to protect its ecosystem. Wetlands, as Munyazikwiye noted, are crucial for filtering water. Conserving 1,000 Wetlands Munyazikwiye revealed that a recent survey identified over 940 wetlands nationwide that require conservation. “These wetlands help prevent flooding, filter water, and store it for various uses. We need to maintain buffer zones of at least 20 metres around wetlands to prevent encroachment,” he said. According to the Wetlands Biodiversity and Ecological Integrity Assessment, a 2020 survey by the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS Network), more than 40% of Rwanda’s wetlands have lost their pristine quality due to poor management. The survey also showed that 10.6% of the country’s wetlands are located in Kigali City. The government has pledged to rehabilitate five key wetlands in Kigali within 18 months. These efforts are expected to benefit 220,500 people directly and indirectly by mitigating the risks of flooding and water shortages. The wetlands targeted for rehabilitation include Rwampara, Gikondo, Nyabugogo, Kibumba, and the Rugenge-Rwintare Wetland System. These wetlands feed into the Nyabugogo River, which eventually flows into the Nyabarongo River and the Nile. Impact of Africa’s Water Crisis Munyazikwiye warned that failure to conserve wetlands could worsen water scarcity and increase flooding risks. According to the State of Africa's Environment 2024 report, death rates due to unsafe water sources in Africa are alarmingly high—50 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 1,000 times higher than in developed countries. The report further predicts that by 2050, 36% of the world's cities will face a water crisis. It emphasises that poor urban water security threatens the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Looking ahead, African cities must adopt water-sensitive urban planning and governance strategies, the report advises. Water consumption in urban areas is forecasted to rise by 80% by 2050, further straining resources. Africa currently has the lowest levels of access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services worldwide. This contributes to the region's significant water insecurity, with 31% (over 411 million people) across 54 African countries lacking access to basic drinking water services. Despite Africa accounting for 9% of the global freshwater resources, its growing urban population and increasing water demand pose significant challenges. “The urban population of Rwanda is rapidly increasing, and socio-economic conditions are improving. As a result, the demand for water to meet municipal needs is rising. Human activities and high-water demand are putting pressure on our water resources,” the report concludes.

Does the Odd-Even Scheme Help Delhi? Expert Explains in 5 Points

As delhi faces worsening air quality, the government is considering reinstating the Odd-Even Scheme as part of its 21-point Winter Action Plan to tackle pollution. However, experts question the effectiveness of this measure. Here’s a breakdown of the reasoning from vivek Chattopadhyay, Principal Program Manager at the Center for Science and Environment, regarding the scheme's limitations: Limited Geographic Applicability: The Odd-Even Scheme will only be enforced in delhi, leaving surrounding areas like Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, and faridabad unaffected. This inconsistency means that pollution levels may not significantly decrease since vehicles from these areas can still contribute to the pollution problem as they travel into Delhi. Commuters may also face additional challenges as they seek alternative routes to avoid restrictions. Exclusion of Two-Wheelers: The scheme primarily targets four-wheelers, neglecting the substantial number of two-wheelers on the road, which also contribute significantly to air pollution. By not including these vehicles, the initiative's overall impact on improving air quality may be minimal. Traffic Patterns Before and After Implementation: The Odd-Even regulations are enforced from 8 AM to 8 PM, prompting many commuters to alter their travel times to avoid restrictions. This results in increased vehicle movement before 8 AM and after 8 PM, which can shift pollution levels rather than reduce them. Consequently, air quality may worsen at night when emissions increase. Increased Use of Older, Polluting Vehicles: During the Odd-Even enforcement, individuals may resort to using older vehicles that do not meet stringent emission standards, such as BS 3 or BS 4 engines. This practice can exacerbate pollution rather than mitigate it, counteracting the intended benefits of the scheme. Traffic Congestion Issues: Implementation of the Odd-Even Scheme often leads to heightened traffic congestion. As more people turn to auto-rickshaws and cabs instead of private vehicles, the limited public transport capacity becomes overwhelmed, causing further delays and air quality issues. Long-Term Solutions Needed Chattopadhyay emphasizes that addressing Delhi’s persistent air pollution requires a comprehensive, year-round strategy rather than reactive measures during severe pollution episodes. Sustainable solutions, such as improving infrastructure and reducing reliance on polluting vehicles, are essential for making a meaningful impact on air quality in the long run.

The cloud advantage: Driving growth and operational efficiency in modern enterprises

Jan Dhan is an incredible success story featuring digital public infrastructure (Aadhaar and UPI) which brought in financial inclusion with 530 million new bank accounts in just 10 years. This and other initiatives of the digital rail, provide tremendous opportunity to India Inc. to drive profitable growth in further digital transformation of India. Across the globe, cloud computing has been an enabler of digital transformation for both enterprises and governments. India’s public cloud services market will expand at over 23 percent CAGR between 2022 and 2027, to reach $ 17.8 billion. However, in comparison with global peers, currently, Indian companies spend about $17.5 per employee on public cloud services, which is just one-eleventh of the global average. The biggest obstacles to adoption include a lack of appreciation of features and benefits of cloud, difficulty in integrating and migrating legacy systems, and shortage of cloud transformation skills. Addressing these challenges without delay is imperative because estimates say that slow adoption could potentially cost the country’s GDP a whopping $118 billion, apart from 5 million jobs by 2026. India Inc. needs to move forward on cloud not only because it is a source of immense value, but especially because it is the key to survivability. Surviving post Covid Cloud was essential for remote work during the pandemic, but global supply chain impact continues to cause disruptions. Building resilience requires real-time visibility through seamless data flows across supply chain participants, further enhanced with analytics and AI. In the manufacturing industry, data and AI solutions on the cloud can help improve shop floor productivity and optimize production with real-time visibility. This visibility lets businesses anticipate demand changes, market disruptions, and risks, allowing quick intervention. Only cloud provides the platform capabilities, services, computing power, and agility needed for real-time business and data intensive operations. Surviving in the market of the future Markets remain in flux due to changes in technology, consumer expectations, competition, and regulations. For example, ChatGPT gained 100 million users in two months and now generative AI is considered in every industry segment. Future markets will feature non-traditional players using technology to create new models with low-cost, agile, cloud-based solutions like a digital-only bank. To compete, established large businesses need same level of agility, scalability, cost-efficiency, and innovation which can achieved by adopting cloud to build solutions leveraging trending technologies such as AI, IoT, Edge Computing, Metaverse, for competitive edge and new business revenue streams. For small businesses, cloud offers easy access to technology and scalability without upfront investment. Surviving natural and other disasters Cloud technology offers built-in redundancy and disaster recovery, ensuring continuous operations during natural disasters and contingencies. This is crucial for Indian businesses, as 40 percent of them lack disaster recovery capabilities. Moving workloads to the cloud allows enterprises to run core systems and data remain accessible remotely even when one facility is affected. Customers and business partners can access services nationwide, benefiting from the cloud’s resilience. Additionally, the secure infrastructure of hyperscalers improves resilience to cyberattack which otherwise was not feasible. Surviving through climate change A World Economic Forum survey of large global corporations estimates the cost of climate change at equivalent to 10 percent of annual sales. India’s Centre for Science and Environment says the country experienced 318 extreme weather events in 2023, affecting all states or union territories. In the interest of long-term survival, Indian organisations need to prioritise climate action and make more sustainable choices, such as low carbon footprint in processing technologies, IT infrastructure, starting now. Migrating workloads from enterprise data centres to public cloud can drastically reduce energy consumption, as hyperscaler manage superior capacity utilisation, build energy efficiency data centres and source green energy to power their data centres. This reduction in carbon emissions within the IT landscape contributes positively to green initiatives and accelerates the carbon reduction goals of organisations. The value of cloud continues to grow In the beginning, cloud was seen as an efficiency enabler. Then it was valued for its scalability, agility and analytical capability. Going forward, cloud will be crucial to the survivability of enterprises.

India needs more time for transition from coal in its energy mix: Experts

As the UK officially shut down its last remaining coal power plant on Monday, policy experts said coal will continue to be a part of India's energy mix for the next few decades, given that it is still a developing country with significant energy needs. The UK on Monday closed its last coal power plant, becoming the first G7 nation to do so amid calls for a global coal-free energy system by 2040. The world's first coal power plant opened in London in 1882, and until 2012, coal accounted for 39 per cent of the UK's electricity generation. Global energy think tank Ember said the closure of the UK's last coal plant means that more than a third of OECD countries are now coal-free, with three-quarters expected to eliminate coal power by 2030, in line with global climate goals aimed at limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) "Net Zero by 2050" report recommends that developed countries phase out unabated coal by 2030, while developing countries should aim to do so by 2040 to remain on track for global net-zero emissions by 2050. The term "unabated" in this context refers to electricity production that does not use technologies designed to capture and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These developments occur as developed countries push their counterparts in the developing world to accelerate the phase-down of unabated coal power. India, the world's second-largest consumer of coal for electricity generation after China, saw the share of coal-fired power generation rise to 75 per cent in 2023-24 from 71 per cent in 2019-20. According to the IEA, while coal consumption fell in Europe and the US in 2023, it rose by 8 per cent in India and 5 per cent in China. That said, India's coal usage for power generation began several decades later than that of developed nations. While the UK's first coal power plant opened in 1882, India established its first major thermal power plant, the Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station in Hyderabad, in 1920. Policy experts say India is focusing on a long-term energy transition, where coal will continue to be part of the energy mix for the next few decades. Sunil Dahiya, an independent analyst, said that while coal will not disappear in the near future, India must reduce harmful emissions from the sector by deploying advanced air pollution control technologies and improving efficiency to curb carbon emissions. According to climate activist Harjeet Singh, India has made remarkable progress in renewable energy, but the intermittent nature of these sources and the lack of scalable battery storage mean that coal still underpins its power supply and industries like steel and cement. "Yet, the cost of coal goes far beyond emissions -- it destroys ecosystems, displaces communities, and deepens environmental injustice. India must urgently shift away from coal, and the international community must provide the financial and technological support needed for a just transition -- for both people and the planet," he said. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former deputy chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission, said in a webinar organized by the think tank Centre for Social and Economic Progress last week that India can't cut down coal immediately and it is hypocritical in the West to focus solely on coal while ignoring oil and natural gas. "However, if we are going to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, we must recognise that we need to phase out thermal power.We should indicate to the world that India's emissions will increase for a while, then peak, and eventually decline. Right now, there's a lot of misunderstanding in the West about India's willingness to reduce emissions, which is not true," he said. Sunita Narain, the director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, echoed this sentiment, saying that India is currently dependent on coal, as it remains the cheapest form of energy available. "We need to talk about a different future for coal. We must clean up coal -- not just for climate change but also for local air pollution. We will still need to invest, and that's where the world needs a conversation." India has repeatedly emphasised that it is still a developing country with significant energy needs and that coal remains a crucial part of its energy mix because it is a reliable and affordable source of electricity. It argues that developed countries have historically contributed more to greenhouse gas emissions, having relied on fossil fuels for their economic development. Therefore, developed nations should take the lead in reducing emissions while allowing developing countries more time to transition to cleaner energy sources. India's Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had said earlier that the country is committed to meeting the energy needs of its population and "will also have to rely on coal power until it achieves developed country status". He said the nation cannot solely depend on "importing oil and gas" to meet its energy demands.

India needs more time for transition from coal Experts

Sunita Narain, the director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, echoed this sentiment, saying that India is currently dependent on coal, as it remains the cheapest form of energy available. "We need to talk about a different future for coal. We must clean up coal -- not just for climate change but also for local air pollution. We will still need to invest, and that's where the world needs a conversation."