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WHO: Guidelines to protect children from the harmful effects of food marketing

Context: The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new guidelines to protect children from the harmful effects of food marketing that promotes unhealthy dietary choices. Need for the guidelines: In 2017, to understand the linkages between food and NCDs, the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted the Know your diet — school children survey. The survey found that Most schoolchildren were not eating a balanced diet Children had a low frequency of intake of cereals, vegetables and millet Packaged food was more popular among children than non-packaged food Previous guidelines: 2010 WHO ‘Set of recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children In March 2023, WHO published a set of nutritional criteria which aimed to protect children from marketing that promoted unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/food/who-releases-policy-recommendations-to-protect-children-from-harmful-effects-of-food-marketing-90393#:~:text=The%20World%20Health%20Organization%20(WHO,that%20promote%20unhealthy%20dietary%20choices.

India’s battery swapping policy for electric vehicles: A timeline

The battery swapping policy seems to have stuck in limbo after strong opposition from the industry. With this policy, the government sought to make electric vehicle (EV) charging quick and more convenient. EVs traditionally come with fixed batteries which can be charged using power supply. Hence for mass adoption of EVs, reliable charging networks are a prerequisite. Apart from the infrastructure needs, charging takes much longer. Towards this, battery swapping is considered an alternative. Battery swapping is a technique where discharged batteries of an EV are exchanged with the charges ones, offering the customer flexibility to charge them separately. It saves time, space, and cost incurred. A draft policy outlined the standardisation of battery dimensions and specifications for battery swapping in two and three wheeler EVs. Standardisation would allow easy and quick swapping of batteries at a swapping station, vehicle or battery make not withstanding. The standardisation bid soon emerged as the point of contention for the industry. Many believed that the standardisation would unfairly benefit one particular original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Additionally, the opposing party also said that standardisation would require a lot of changes to the current platform which may not be feasible in the current scenario. Here is the timeline of all the events that transpired from the time the scheme was proposed to the current scenario. February 2022: The battery swapping scheme was first mentioned by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2022 presentation. “Introducing the battery swapping policy and recognising battery or energy as a service will help develop EV infrastructure and increase the use of EVs in public transportation,” she said. In the same month apex public think tank Niti Aayog held an inter-ministerial discussion to formulate a battery swapping policy framework. This was followed by discussions with stakeholders including battery swapping operators, battery manufacturers, vehicle OEMs, financial institutions, and other experts. April 2022: Niti Aayog released the draft policy and invited comments from different stakeholders. It addresses technical, regulatory, institutional, and financing challenges of the battery swapping. “This Policy would support the vision by promoting the adoption of battery swapping technology implemented via Battery as a service (BaaS) business models which will ensure lower upfront costs, minimal downtime, and lower space requirements,” the document stated. November 2022: The department of science and technology (DST) and Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) jointly launched a platform to develop new EV batteries to suit Indian requirements.

बच्चों को खाद्य कंपनियों के मायाजाल से बचाने के लिए डब्ल्यूएचओ ने जारी किए नए दिशानिर्देश

आज जिस तरह से दुनिया भर में जंक फूड का चलन बढ़ रहा है वो अपने साथ अनिगिनत बीमारियों को भी दावत दे रहा है। यह खाद्य पदार्थ खाने में तो स्वादिष्ठ लग सकते हैं लेकिन स्वास्थ्य के दृष्टिकोण से ठीक नहीं होते। हालांकि खाद्य कंपनियां अपने उत्पादों को बेचने और ज्यादा मुनाफे की चाह में इन खाद्य पदार्थों के प्रचार या मार्केटिंग के लिए तरह-तरह की लोकलुभावन और आक्रामक नीतियां अपनाती हैं, जिसके जाल में बच्चे आसानी से फंस जाते हैं। यही वजह है कि बच्चों को इन खाद्य कंपनियों के मायाजाल और लुभावने प्रचार और मार्केटिंग के हानिकारक प्रभावों से बचाने के लिए विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन (डब्ल्यूएचओ) ने नए दिशानिर्देश जारी किए हैं। इनका मकसद जंक फ़ूड से जुड़े आक्रामक प्रचार को रोकने के लिए नीतियां बनाने में मदद करना है। इन दिशानिर्देशों में विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन ने सभी देशों से सिफारिश की है कि वो सभी आयु वर्ग के बच्चों को उन खाद्य और पेय पदार्थों के प्रचार और मार्केटिंग से बचाने के लिए व्यापक और अनिवार्य तौर पर नीतियां लागू करे, जिनमें संतृप्त वसा, ट्रांस फैट, चीनी या नमक की मात्रा कहीं ज्यादा होती है। ट्रांस फैट या ट्रांस फैटी ऐसिड को खाद्य उत्पादों में वसा का सबसे खराब रूप माना जाता है, जिसके अत्यधिक सेवन से हृदय रोग का जोखिम बढ़ जाता है। डब्ल्यूएचओ की ओर से जारी प्रेस नोट में न्यूट्रिशन और फूड सेफ्टी विभाग के निदेशक फ्रांसेस्को ब्रेन्का ने आगाह किया है कि वसायुक्त, चीनी और नमक से भरपूर खाद्य उत्पादों और पेय पदार्थों का बड़े पैमाने पर किया जाने वाला आक्रामक प्रचार बच्चों में अस्वास्थ्यकर खाने की आदतों को जन्म देता है। ब्रेन्का के मुताबिक जिम्मेदारी के साथ प्रचार और मार्केटिंग के तौर-तरीकों को अपनाए जाने के अनुरोधों का कोई सकारात्मक असर नहीं हुआ है। ऐसे में सरकारों को इस मामले में मजबूत और व्यापक नियम बनाने चाहिए।“ गौरतलब है कि एक दशक से भी अधिक समय पहले, डब्ल्यूएचओ से जुड़े देशों ने बच्चों के लिए खाद्य उत्पादों व ऐल्कॉहॉल-रहित पेय पदार्थों के प्रचार पर केन्द्रित विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन की सिफारिशों का समर्थन किया था। इन सिफारिशों को मई 2010 में हुई तिरसठवीं विश्व स्वास्थ्य सभा में जारी किया गया था। लेकिन इनके बावजूद अब भी बच्चे मार्केटिंग के शक्तिशाली तौर-तरीकों से प्रभावित हो रहे हैं। जो उनके स्वास्थ्य पर बुरा असर डाल सकता है। बच्चों की भोजन सम्बन्धी आदतों को प्रभावित कर सकते हैं विज्ञापन डब्ल्यूएचओ द्वारा 03 जुलाई 2023 को जारी यह संशोधित सिफारिशें, हाल के समय में प्राप्त तथ्यों व जानकारियों की समीक्षा और उनके नतीजों पर आधारित है। इनमें मार्केटिंग से बच्चों के स्वास्थ्य, खान-पान की आदतों और भोजन के प्रति उनके रवैये पर होने वाले प्रभावों का भी आंकलन किया गया है। यह दर्शाता है कि खाद्य उत्पादों की मार्केटिंग बच्चों के स्वास्थ्य, खाने की आदतों और भोजन के प्रति उनके दृष्टिकोण को कैसे प्रभावित करता है। संक्षेप में कहें तो वसा, चीनी और नमक से भरपूर इन खाद्य उत्पादों का आक्रामक प्रचार, सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य के लिए बड़ा खतरा है। जो बच्चों में भोजन के चयन, खाद्य पदार्थों के सेवन को प्रभावित करता है। साथ ही यह भोजन के बारे में उनकी धारणाओं को भी आकार देता है। ऐसे में यह दिशानिर्देश सभी उम्र के बच्चों की सुरक्षा को ध्यान में रखते हुए संतृप्त वसा, ट्रांस फैट, चीनी या नमक से भरपूर खाद्य उत्पादों और अल्कोहल रहित पेय पदार्थों की मार्केटिंग के लिए अनिवार्य नियमों की सिफारिश करते हैं। विश्लेषण के मुताबिक, खाद्य वस्तुओं की मार्केटिंग पर पाबन्दी लगाने वाली नीतियां तभी ज्यादा कारगर होंगी, जब वे अनिवार्य रूप से लागू की जाएं। साथ ही जब इनमें सभी उम्र के बच्चों की सुरक्षा का ध्यान रखा जाए। यह दिशानिर्देश खाद्य पदार्थों को वर्गीकृत करने के लिए सरकार के नेतृत्व में पोषक तत्व प्रोफाइल मॉडल का उपयोग करने का भी सुझाव देते हैं, जिन्हें मार्केटिंग से प्रतिबंधित किया जाना चाहिए। गाइडलाइन्स के अनुसार अन्य आयु वर्गों पर भी मार्केटिंग के कारण बढ़ते जोखिम में कमी लाने के उपायों को आजमाना फायदेमंद होगा। साथ ही प्रचार और मार्केटिंग के विभिन्न माध्यमों जैसे डिजिटल मार्केटिंग और अन्य मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्मों पर की जा रही मार्केटिंग के लिए भी व्यापक नीतियां जरूरी हैं। इसके साथ ही कार्टून, खिलौने, गाने या अन्य तकनीकों के साथ-साथ बड़ी हस्तियों द्वारा किया जाने वाला प्रचार जो बच्चों पर गहरी छाप छोड़ता है उसपर भी लगाम कसनी होगी। डब्ल्यूएचओ के मुताबिक इससे जुड़े नीतिगत निर्णय क्षेत्रों और राज्यों की विशिष्ट परिस्थितियों और उनके स्थानीय संदर्भों को ध्यान में रखते हुए किए जाने चाहिए। इन सिफारिशों को अपनाते समय स्थानीय स्तर पर परामर्श महत्वपूर्ण है। इसके अतिरिक्त, यह सुनिश्चित करने के लिए तंत्र मौजूद होना चाहिए कि सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य नीति-निर्माण किसी भी अनुचित प्रभाव से सुरक्षित है। स्वास्थ्य के लिए हानिकारक हैं जंक फ़ूड इन दिशानिर्देशों का उद्देश्य स्वास्थ्य को बढ़ावा देने वाले खाद्य वातावरण तैयार करने में सरकारों की मदद करना है। इससे लोगों को स्वास्थ्य के दृष्टिकोण से बेहतर आहार को चुनने, जीवन भर स्वस्थ खाने की आदतें विकसित करने, आहार की पोषण गुणवत्ता बढ़ाने और गैर-संचारी रोगों के बोझ को कम करने के लिए प्रोत्साहित किया जा सकेगा। देखा जाए तो जंक या अल्ट्रा-प्रोसेस्ड फूड भारतीय बच्चों के लिए भी बड़ी समस्या बन चुका है। यही वजह है कि सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) और डाउन टू अर्थ लम्बे समय से इसके खतरों के बारे में लोगों को जागरूक करता रहा है। इसपर सीएसई ने हाल ही में एक व्यापक अध्ययन भी किया था, जिसमें जंक फ़ूड से जुड़े खतरों के बारे में चेताया गया था। इस अध्ययन के अनुसार भारत में बेचे जा रहे अधिकांश पैकेज्ड और फास्ट फूड आइटम में खतरनाक रूप से नमक और वसा की उच्च मात्रा मौजूद है, जो भारतीय खाद्य सुरक्षा और मानक प्राधिकरण (एफएसएसएआई) द्वारा निर्धारित तय सीमा से बहुत ज्यादा है। सीएसई न केवल इसके खतरे से लोगों को आगाह करता रहा है। साथ ही लेबलिंग से जुड़े कानूनों को तत्काल लागु करने की भी मांग कर रहा है। जो खाद्य पदार्थ स्वास्थ्य के लिए हानिकारक हैं उनपर अलग से लाल चेतावनी लेबल लगाने की भी मांग की थी। देश में अल्ट्रा-प्रोसेस्ड फूड की बिक्री को देखें तो 2005 में जहां यह 2 किलोग्राम प्रति व्यक्ति थी, वो 2019 में बढ़कर 6 किलोग्राम तक पहुंच गई है और 2024 तक उसके 8 किलोग्राम तक पहुंचने का अनुमान है। हाल ही में अखिल भारतीय आयुर्विज्ञान संस्थान (एम्स) के डॉक्टरों ने भी जंक फूड पैकेटों के लेबलों पर शुगर, साल्ट और फैट की वैज्ञानिक सीमा से सम्बंधित जानकारी दिए जाने की मांग की थी, जिससे ग्राहकों को इनके बारे में सही जानकारी मिल सकें और वो जंक फूड को लेकर सही फैसला ले सकें।

‘Plastic ban isn’t working, govt needs to rethink strategy’

According to Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment, the ban has to be enforceable to begin with. We need to understand where and why plastic isn’t getting recycled and devise our plan accordingly, she tells Amit Bhattacharya. The government banned single-use plastics (SUPs) last year. Has the ban been effective? What else needs to be done? ■ The government’s singleuse plastic legislation is too little, too late. Take carry bags. The ban is based on the micron, or thickness, of the bag. Now, if I were to ask, what is the micron of the bag you’re holding, you will say, ‘I don’t know’. This is why it is very difficult to enforce a ban based on microns. Bans on carry bags that have been successful across the world have been ones where there is a total ban on these items. As for other banned products, apart from earbuds, which are made by a few known companies, all others are unbranded items. Now, unbranded items are very difficult to stop at the production stage. For instance, it’s very laudable that the government has put plastic cutlery in the banned list. But its production happens in the unorganised sector. So, you can’t really enforce it at the production stage, but only during sale or use. That means, you are talking about raising awareness among millions of people about the ban. Usually, if you go to a shop and see plastic cutlery, you will assume that the government has in some way allowed it and you will pick it up. That’s why this ban is too little. The way the items have been chosen, you will never be able to enforce it. We need to rethink our plastic strategy and move out of just single-use plastics to something where we can really understand what the problem is, where plastic is not getting recycled and why it is not getting recycled. Those are the items you need to ban. Should products like multilayered plastics, whose use has grown manifold, be brought into the ambit of a more comprehensive ban? ■ In the government strategy, multilayered plastics are covered under what is called EPR — extended producer responsibility. A gutka manufacturer would be told he has to set a target of how much plastic he will collect and recycle. He is not told how many gutka sachets to recycle. He can collect any kind of plastic and give a quantity to the government. Obviously, this is not going to help us dealwith the sachet problem or the multilayered plastics at landfill sites. Let’s understand that the plastic problem in India is because of two things. One, we are not segregating the plastic at source. So, it gets dirty and contaminated and we are not able to reuse it. Two, there is a type of plastic that cannot be recycled. If we understand this, the focus of our strategy would be to make sure there’s wet and dry waste segregation. Once you separate the dry waste, you can start looking at what in it cannot be recycled. And that’s the plastic you need to ban. Obviously, one of the most important materials in that respect would be multilayered plastic. It’s very simple: anything that you want recycled has to be a single polymer. The minute you mix different types of polymers, it is difficult to recycle. The only thing you can then do is send it for co-processing or incineration. But even for incineration and making good quality RDF (refusederived fuel), you need to have the incinerable plastic separated. So, that’s really where the policy for plastic should go. You talked about the importance of segregation. How do you assess the role of civic bodies as organisations responsible for waste collection? ■ Here is some good news. Actually, a lot of progress has been made on household-level segregation. Two things have happened. One, the government policy has changed and that’s a big thing. The ministry of housing and urban affairs (Mohua) has come up with a fantastic policy for Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2. 0, where they have said that household-level segregation is the bottom line of waste management. They have also said that cities will be rewarded and, in their rankings, have given maximum weightage to householdlevel segregation because they know without this you can never have a circular economy and you can never recycle. So, the Mohua policy itself has been fantastic. It’s a new approach for India and it needs to be understood that we have moved ahead. Secondly, if you look at cities, there are some amazing examples. We talk a lot about Indore but there are others. There is Bhopal, there is Ambikapur. . . There are so many cities now in India doing incredibly powerful work for household-level segregation and waste recycling. So, you’re saying the government strategy of Swachh rankings is working. It’s playing a role in people trying to clean up their act. ■ Absolutely. The ranking is just a number. It has weightages under it, which is the design of the policy. In 2017, the maximum weightage was given to a city that was visibly clean, where you had a collection system in place. In 2023, the weightage is focused on how much waste a city processes. How much house hold-level segregation happens. So, the weightage has changed and that is an important nudge for cities to adopt a different waste management strategy. Would you say that one of the problems with waste management in India is the big role of the informal sector in it? ■ I’ll be very blunt. The only reason this country is not completely drowned in waste is because we have an incredibly sophisticated informal sector, which despite safety concerns, collects every piece of recyclable plastic and is able to sort, segregate and recycle it. We should be immensely grateful to these true waste warriors of India. And, the more successful cities are those that have integrated the informal sector into the waste management systems. And, they have done so very intelligently. There are two models. In one — Pune is an example — the waste management operations have been outsourced to the informal sector, which runs via cooperatives. The other model is where the city has worked out an arrangement in which the dry waste goes to the informal sector for further recycling. Without incorporating the informal sector into our waste management systems, India will never succeed in going forward. We need to make sure these livelihoods are secured and the workers get better employment conditions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they get formal employment but that they get more money and better safety conditions. All this is possible. In Odisha, they have given transgenders the contract for the entire waste management of Bhubaneswar. In Delhi, we thought we could just privatise waste collection and the system would improve. It hasn’t happened. The best examples are coming from cities that are learning wealth from waste is best made using the labour of the poor.

UP govt to conduct aquifer mapping in 4 cities today

Lucknow: Aquifer mapping and management study will be conducted in four cities of the state from Tuesday to ascertain the status of groundwater and water bodies. The survey will be carried out in Jhansi, Rampur, Banda and Rae Bareli to find out the status of groundwater. The exercise is being initiated under AMRUT mission to help urban local bodies governing the four cities to prepare the city water balance and city water action plans. Officials said that the objective is to fulfil at least 20% of the city water demand through recycled or treated water. The groundwater balance within the urban aquifer systems are going to be studied to find out the variations over the past two to three decades. “We are going to find out the new and old tap connections within the four cities, the timing of supply and the quantity of water being supplied. Water bearing formations will be also surveyed and examined to find out the stress level on the aquifers,” said Subrata Chakraborty, senior programme manager (water) at Centre for Science and Environment.

Thermal plants set to reduce pollution with new rules by CEA

India’s major source of power, even in the near future, is going to remain coal-based thermal power plants, hence ash disposal will continue to be a subject of a priority To lower the pollution from coal-based thermal plants, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has come out with guidelines to dispose of various types of ash from thermal plants. The CEA guidelines suggest that fly ash can be disposed of through a high-concentration slurry disposal (HCSD) system. “The generated ash is disposed of in well-designed, constructed, and maintained ash ponds generally in wet slurry form. At a specific location, compared to a wet ash disposal system, a dry ash disposal system may also be suitable. In new projects, due to the inherent benefit of the HCSD system, is being preferred to reduce land and water requirements as well as to prevent contamination of groundwater,” said the CEA report. Basically, thermal power projects (TPP) are to be provided with systems for 100% dry ash extraction and storage and supply of ash to various entrepreneurs for promoting ash utilisation. “As per MOEF&CC notification, each TPP shall install dedicated dry fly ash silos for the storage of at least 16 hours of ash-- based on the installed capacity having separate access roads so as to ease the delivery of ash,” said the CEA guidelines. Wet disposal in high-concentration slurry form is an advanced system of wet disposal with a fly ash concentration of 60% to 70% of ash by weight. Due to the high concentration of ash, it is pumped through high-pressure slurry pumps to the disposal area and needs steel pipes for conveying the slurry. Flexible pipes are used at the disposal area. Centrifugal pumps have also been implemented for conveying high-concentration slurry to long distances in one plant and have since then been reported to be working satisfactorily. The dry ash disposal system is entirely different from the wet disposal system. In the dry ash disposal system, furnace bottom ash (FBA) and pulverised fly ash (PFA) are transported in moistened form from hydro bins and silos, respectively, to ash mound sites on fixed belt conveyors in enclosed gantries. In the ash mound area, ash is disposed of by various types of equipment like fixed, extendable, shiftable, and mobile belt conveyors, a crawler-mounted boom spreader, a crawler-mounted bucket wheel reclaimer, and a variety of wheeled and crawler-mounted mobile equipment. At present, it is being used at only one station – National Capital Thermal Power Station at Dadri. The CEA has recommended that all new plants will use a high-concentration slurry disposal system for ash ponds. The existing plants will carry out a feasibility study to switch over to a high-concentration slurry disposal system and submit the report and time-bound action plan for construction to SPCBs, said the CEA guidelines. In the case of ash mounds, a dry ash disposal system, which is a requirement of the process, will be used. Ash ponds are engineered dam and dyke facilities used for the storage of bottom ash and Pulverised Fly Ash (PFA) generated at Thermal Power Stations. “Ash ponds are also used to enable water to separate from the fly ash slurry. Water from the ash ponds is recycled, reducing the use of fresh water. Ash ponds use gravity to settle out large particulates (measured as total suspended solids) from the thermal power plant,” said the guidelines. “The combustion of coal in Thermal Power Plant (TPP) produces coal combustion residues (CCRs) which is a collective term referring to fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and fluidised bed combustion ash,” said the CEA report. Most of the fine dust entrained by the flue gases leaving the boiler and collected by fabric filter or electrostatic precipitator is known as precipitated fly ash (PFA), which results in 80% of the total coal combustion. The rest of the 20% worth of particles, including unburned carbon settle to the bottom of the boiler called bottom ash (BA). Because of economic viability, thermal power stations most widely dispose of both precipitated fly ash and bottom ash together as a slurry to the pond in which it is stored for a longer period. “As the reuse potential of ash has been increasing during recent years, segregated storage of fly ash and bottom ash is likely to gain popularity among power plants considering better economical returns from the sale of fly ash,” said the report. Presently in India, more than 40,000 hectares of land are occupied for storage of ash. Over a period of time, fly ash disposal can cause problems like large surface setting lagoons for storage, infiltration of transport of water from deposit to the soil, dust carryover in wind from dried lagoons, and leads to ecological and environmental imbalances if proper safeguards are not taken in their design, construction, operation, and maintenance. In India, about 73% of the total electrical energy is generated from coal-based sources. Annually about 271 million tonnes of ash as solid waste/by-product are released during the process of generation of electricity by combustion of pulverised bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal. Indian coal has low calorific value (3500 Kcal/kg), and results in 30-60% of ash content. India’s major source of power, even in the near future, is going to remain coal-based thermal power plants hence, ash disposal would continue to be a subject of a priority since environmental issues hold greater importance in this century. “Though coal ash has proven to be a resource material for various uses such as earth material, ingredient for cement manufacture, raw material for the manufacture of bricks, tiles, and aggregates, the demand for ash may not at all time match with the supply of ash, which is produced 24x7, as the power plant operates,” said the CEA report. Recently a state-level analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on compliance with sulfur dioxide emission norms by thermal plants said only 5% of the capacity is meeting the norms currently. Plants in all the eastern states are non-compliant. Very few plants in the remaining regions are meeting the norms, says the analysis. The CSE analysis is based on the updated Flue Gas Desulfurisation (FGD) status released by the CEA. “The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) issued a notification specifying the emission norms for coal-based power plants in December 2015. Since then, the norms have been diluted for several parameters and deadlines delayed,” said Nivit Yadav, programme director, of the industrial pollution unit, CSE. As per the CSE analysis, 5% of plants that have so far installed FGDs for controlling SO2 emissions include 9,280 MW that has been reported to have commissioned FGDs and another 1,430 MW that ‘claim to be SO2 compliant’. “We have found that despite five to eight years of extensions in deadlines, 43% of the capacity (Category A, which includes plants within 10 km radius of Delhi-NCR or cities with million-plus population); 11% of the capacity (Category B -- within 10 km radius of critically polluted areas); and 1% of the remaining capacity (Category C) are unlikely to meet the norms by the latest deadlines of 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively,” said CSE programme officer, industrial pollution unit Anubha Aggarwal.

Outcomes of Paris plastic meet 2023 were far from expectations; here is why

On May 29, when the UN’s 193 member-states met in Paris, the task at hand was to prepare a zero draft of a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. At the end of the five-day meet of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for Plastics, this target was deferred. Now, the UN Environment Programme’s INC Secretariat will prepare the zero draft by November this year, when the world meets at Nairobi. This was the second of five meetings due to take place to complete negotiations by 2024. Such a short timeline made it critical to decide on the substance of the text at Paris. The INC Secretariat will now take submissions from observers and countries on principles and scope of the instrument and possibility of work before the Nairobi meet. The outcomes of the meet are far from expectations, especially those of the 57 countries—the so-called High Ambition Coalition—committed to a robust instrument that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic. The reason was a set of delays caused largely by nations with economic interest in plastic and in materials used in its production such as oil, gas and petrochemicals. This group has been informally labelled by civil society and non-profits as the No Ambition Coalition. The first agenda item of the meet—election of a bureau to guide the INC Secretariat in organising future meets—was derailed obecause Eastern European region saw more nominations than two, as stipulated by INC. Moreover, one candidate from Western Europe (this includes US and Canada) faced an objection. Such a situation was unusual; these issues are typically ironed out at regional meets before the plenary. Nevertheless, the INC Secretariat suggested a secret ballot vote for election from both regions. This saw objection from Saudi Arabia, Russia and India, believed to be part of the No Ambition Coalition. They were supported by China, Iran, UAE and Argentina. The objecting countries said allowing voting would set a precedent for future decision-making. They emphasised on a consensus system, though it leaves room for decisions to be stalled if there is no unanimity. Eventually, the bureau was elected, but the voting versus consensus debate continued. On the second day, India reiterated a point of contention from the first INC meet last year. The instrument to end plastic pollution has, for now, adopted rules of procedure followed by the Minamata Convention on Mercury. India has been stressing on “bracketing” Rules 37 and 38.1, essentially rendering them inapplicable. Rule 37, as per the Minamata Convention, gives each country one vote; with a provision for exception to blocs like the EU (INC has already bracketed this provision). Rule 38.1 allows for voting to gain a two-thirds majority, if all measures to reach consensus fail. India’s insistence was echoed by others in the No Ambition Coalition. Finally, INC decided to finalise an interpretative text to highlight the disagreement. The issue will be discussed in Nairobi this November. LOOSE ENDS Even as negotiations began on the third evening of INC-2, it became apparent that certain countries are unwilling to let go of plastic and its profits. The plenary was divided into two contact groups to discuss in parallel substance (objectives and core obligations) and implementation (measures and means). Most member-states agreed the objective of the instrument should read, “End plastic pollution; protect human health and the environment from its adverse effects throughout the life cycle of plastic”. While India did not state a preference on this, it was not in favour of having a timeline to end plastic pollution. The rationale India gave was there would be doubts on the instrument beyond the timeline. An option for core obligations, “Phasing out and/or reducing the supply of, demand for and use of primary plastic polymers”, was rejected by India, Indonesia, Iran, China, Republic of Korea, Russia and the US. India said the problem is of plastic “litter”, not plastic as a material. So, emphasis should be on plastic waste management. This is contradictory to the principles of waste management, in which the first steps are prevention, minimisation and reduction. The idea of developing national action plans on plastic was supported by most member-states. However, India recommended against a template, saying that countries should plan based on circumstances and capacities. The country, with backing from US and Russia, also objected to banning, phasing out, reduction and control of production of specific problematic, unnecessary and avoidable plastics. This is despite India having restrictions on single-use plastic since 2022. The African states emerged as the most progressive group at INC-2. Most of them, including oil-rich Nigeria, agreed to hard interventions on production and use of plastic. PRESSURE POINTS The instrument to end plastic pollution has, in a way, drawn battle lines among countries. As focus shifts to the zero draft, emphasis should be to uphold the basic tenet to address the full lifecycle of plastic. Experts at Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment highlight focus areas: First is the upstream phase or extraction and refining of raw materials, and industrial production of plastic. The text must scrutinise the kind of plastic produced and the chemicals involved in terms of polluting potential. The midstream phase is distribution of plastic through businesses, street vendors and retailers. Focus here should be on phasing out “non-recyclable” plastics. A potential sticking point here is that the options guiding INC discussions use “problematic/unnecessary/avoidable” in lieu of non-recyclable. This opens the text to many interpretations. Finally, the downstream phase is plastic waste management, mechanical recycling and end-of-life disposal. The petroleum, petrochemical and plastic industry uses “disposal” and “industrial recycling” interchangeably. There should be clear definitions. READ MORE: This was first published in the 16-30 June, 2023 print edition of Down To Earth https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/waste/delay-tactics-outcomes-of-paris-plastic-meet-2023-were-far-from-expectations-here-is-why-90142

प्राकृतिक उर्वरकों की गुणवत्ता का रहे ध्यान, कीमत हो कम

प्राकृतिक उर्वरकों के पर्याप्त उत्पादन को बढ़ावा देने के लिए सरकार को ठोस उपाय करने होंगे। ये उर्वरक न केवल उच्च गुणवत्ता वाले हों, बल्कि उनमें ज्यादा पैदावार के लिए रासायनिक उर्वरकों जितनी क्षमता भी हो। सरकार को फसल-विविधीकरण को बढ़ावा देना होगा। यदि सरकार उपज के लिए आकर्षक एमएसपी की गारंटी देती है तो मक्का, बाजरा, दूसरे मोटे अनाज समेत अन्य फसलों का रकबा भी बढ़ेगा। किसानों को कम कीमत पर उर्वरक उपलब्ध कराने और उनकी उत्पादकता बढ़ाने के लिए पीएम-प्रणाम (प्रधानमंत्री- प्रमोशन ऑफ अल्टरनेटिव न्यूट्रिएंट्स फॉर एग्रीकल्चर मैनेजमेंट) योजना शुरू करने का विचार उपयोगी है। इसका उद्देश्य रासायनिक उर्वरकों की जगह कृषि पारिस्थितिकी आधारित उर्वरकों को बढ़ावा देना है। पैदावार बढ़ाने के लिए रासायनिक उर्वरकों के ज्यादा इस्तेमाल से मिट्टी के प्राकृतिक पोषक तत्त्व नष्ट हुए हैं। हरित क्रांति वाले तीन राज्यों यथा पंजाब, हरियाणा और उत्तर प्रदेश के बड़े इलाकों की मिट्टी ऐसे कमजोर इंसान जैसी हो गई है, जो अपनी क्षमता बढ़ाने के लिए स्टेरॉयड का इस्तेमाल करता है। ऐसा इंसान जिन्दगी तो जी रहा है, पर भीतर से खोखला हो रहा है। इसी तरह मृदा की उत्पादन क्षमता घट रही है। अन्य राज्यों की मृदा की स्थिति भी ऐसी ही हो रही है। हालांकि, पीएम-प्रणाम के क्रियान्वयन की राह आसान नहीं है। पहली बात, बजट में इसके लिए अलग से धन का आवंटन नहीं किया गया है। धन की व्यवस्था केंद्र सरकार द्वारा किसानों को रासायनिक उर्वरक पर दी जाने वाली सब्सिडी की मात्रा को कम करके की जानी है। राज्य सरकारों से अपेक्षा की गई है कि वे सब्सिडी राशि कम करने के लिए किसानों को प्राकृतिक उर्वरक के इस्तेमाल की ओर प्रेरित करें। केन्द्र सरकार वैकल्पिक उर्वरकों को बढ़ावा देने और इसके लिए किसानों में जागरूकता उत्पन्न करने के लिए सब्सिडी बचत का 50 फीसदी राज्यों को अनुदान के रूप में आवंटित करेगी। क्या राज्य सरकारें वैकल्पिक उर्वरक के इस्तेमाल के लिए किसानों को प्रोत्साहित कर पाएंगी? अब तक का रेकॉर्ड खराब रहा है। प्रमुख पारिस्थितिक थिंक-टैंक, सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) ने एक अध्ययन में पाया था कि वैकल्पिक उर्वरक क्षेत्र उपेक्षित, असंगठित और अनियमित है। राज्य सरकारें अधिकांश बजट का इस्तेमाल नहीं कर रही हैं, जो केन्द्र सरकार उन्हें ऑर्गेनिक और जैव उर्वरकों को बढ़ावा देने के लिए आवंटित करती है। वैकल्पिक उर्वरक का उत्पादन भी कम है। यहां तक कि उसकी गुणवत्ता भी अप्रमाणित है। गुणवत्ता नियंत्रण के लिए बुनियादी ढांचा खराब है। ज्यादातर राज्यों के पास अपनी परीक्षण प्रयोगशालाएं तक नहीं हैं। आठ राज्यों के पास अपनी प्रयोगशालाएं तो हैं, पर वे अपनी क्षमता का समुचित इस्तेमाल नहीं कर रही हैं। सात क्षेत्रीय जैविक कृषि केंद्रों की प्रयोगशालाओं की क्षमता का 2019-20 में एक तिहाई से भी कम इस्तेमाल हुआ। किसानों को नकली 'प्राकृतिक उर्वरक' भी बेचा जा रहा है। ऐसे में प्राकृतिक उर्वरकों पर से उनका भरोसा कम हो रहा है। पहली बात, प्राकृतिक उर्वरक ऐसा हो जो मृदा का स्वास्थ्य बढ़ाए। दूसरा, उत्पादन लागत में कमी हो। तीसरा, उन्हें उतनी ही आय हो जितनी उन्हें रासायनिक उर्वरक के इस्तेमाल से होती है। प्राकृतिक उर्वरकों के पर्याप्त उत्पादन को बढ़ावा देने के लिए सरकार को ठोस उपाय करने होंगे। ये उर्वरक न केवल उच्च गुणवत्ता वाले हों, बल्कि उनमें ज्यादा पैदावार के लिए रासायनिक उर्वरकों जितनी क्षमता भी हो। सरकार को फसल-विविधीकरण को बढ़ावा देना होगा। यदि सरकार उपज के लिए आकर्षक एमएसपी की गारंटी देती है तो मक्का, बाजरा, दूसरे मोटे अनाज समेत अन्य फसलों का रकबा भी बढ़ेगा।

Act fast to address farm sector’s vulnerabilities

An integrated climate risk atlas can provide valuable information on the vulnerability of different regions to specific climate hazards. This can help in effective planning, decision-making and resource allocation. Innovative risk financing instruments need to be implemented to bridge the financial gaps in disaster response, recovery and resilience-building efforts. Improving irrigation infrastructure is crucial for minimising the impact of such extreme events. Bishwa Bhaskar Choudhary and Prem Chand IN recent decades, the global climate change debate has shifted from scientific to policy circles, with nations now more focused on exploring response strategies to address this complex challenge endangering anthropocentric and economic activities. The surge in the frequency of extreme weather events is often overlooked as these events tend to be localised and frequently go unreported. However, the cumulative impact of these events is quite alarming and needs serious policy attention. Reportedly, from 1999 to 2018, climate change-induced extreme weather events caused 4,95,000 human deaths globally. More than 12,000 such events resulted in losses amounting to $3.54 trillion (measured in terms of purchasing power parity or PPP) during the same period. Studies have shown that India has witnessed an exponential rise in the occurrence of extreme events from 1970 to 2022, with a notable acceleration after 2000. This trend encompasses a rare phenomenon of consecutive droughts in 2014 and 2015. During this period, several instances of heavy rainfall leading to flash floods have been recorded, notably in Mumbai (2005), Uttarakhand (2013), Kashmir (2014) and Kerala (2018). According to the National Disaster Management Authority, about 12% of India’s total land area is prone to floods, while 68% is susceptible to drought. A significant 80% of the country’s coastline is exposed to cyclones and tsunamis. These statistics highlight the vulnerability of various regions to specific natural hazards. India is witnessing a shift towards the new normal — events such as heatwaves, cold waves, extreme rainfall, landslides and avalanches are becoming more frequent and pronounced. Powered By VDO.AI PlayUnmute Fullscreen India ranks among the top 10 countries most affected by climate change on the Global Climate Risk Index of 2021. As per studies, more than 75% of India’s districts are hotspots of extreme climate events. The State of India’s Environment Report 2023 claims that the country experienced 271 days with extreme weather events between January and October 2022. Last year, India recorded an average annual mean land surface air temperature 0.51°C higher than the long-term average (1981-2010) and the year was the fifth warmest on record. India has a predominantly agrarian economy. Since agricultural production is heavily conditioned by climatic factors, it is more vulnerable to climatic uncertainties than other economic activities. In 2022, the extreme weather events affected crop area of 1.96 million hectares (ha) and killed around 70,000 animals. Of the almost 2 million ha affected crop area, the south peninsula region accounted for the largest share (1.2 million ha). The eastern and northeastern regions accounted for about 80% of the animals killed due to extreme weather events in 2022. As per data of the India Meteorological Department, the number of dry spells — a continuous period of two weeks or more during the monsoon months (June to September) with daily precipitation less than 2.5 mm — have also increased in most parts of the country and more so in rainfed region in the past few decades. The prolonged dry spells cause reduced crop yield and crop failure and threaten the livelihoods of farmers, leading to food insecurity and potential rural-to-urban migration. Bundelkhand, Marathwada, Vidarbha, Ladakh and western Rajasthan are often quoted as examples of dry spell-induced migration. As the frequency and intensity of extreme events are expected to rise, it is crucial to emphasise the need for precise course correction and effective policy implementation. The primary objective should be to curtail and mitigate the compounded impact. Creating a detailed and integrated climate risk atlas can provide valuable information on the vulnerability of different regions to specific climate hazards. This can aid in effective planning, decision-making and resource allocation. Innovative risk financing instruments need to be explored and implemented to bridge the financial gaps in disaster response, recovery and resilience-building efforts. This can involve mechanisms such as insurance schemes, public-private partnerships and international cooperation. Improving irrigation infrastructure and governance is crucial for minimising the impact of such extreme events. A recent study by the National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research proved that though both crop insurance and irrigation effectively improve farm income and reduce farmers’ exposure to downside risks, irrigation works better when these two are compared. It is imperative to incorporate climate risk assessments into all levels of decision-making and across various sectors. This integration will ensure that climate risks are taken into account while formulating policies, implementing infrastructure projects and managing natural resources. Promoting green cover on farmland through agroforestry is a promising strategy. The vegetation fosters ecological resilience, alleviates temperature fluctuations and conserves water resources. Tree-based farming is a scientifically supported nature-based strategy to reduce the impact of extreme climate events on agriculture. Choudhary is a scientist at ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi; Chand is a senior scientist at ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi. Views are personal

डब्ल्यूएचओ क्यों कह रहा है कोल्ड ड्रिंक और च्युइंग गम की मिठास बन सकती है कैंसर की वजह

डब्ल्यूएचओ ‘एस्पार्टेम’ को उन रसायनों की सूची में शामिल कर सकता है जिनसे इंसानों में कैंसर होने की संभावना है। एस्पार्टेम एक कृत्रिम कम कैलोरी वाला स्वीटनर है। भारत में इसका इस्तेमाल सोफ्ट ड्रिंक, बिस्कुट, पेस्ट्री, दही, जैम और जेली जैसे खाद्य उत्पादों में बड़े पैमाने पर किया जाता है। क्या ख़तरनाक पदार्थों की सूची में डालने से इन उत्पादों को नियंत्रित करने में मदद मिलेगी? गाँव कनेक्शन ने कुछ विशेषज्ञों से बात की। अगली बार जब आप 'डाइट' सॉफ्ट ड्रिंक्स की ओर अपना हाथ बढ़ाएं और सोंचे यह सेहत के लिहाज से अच्छा है तो एक बार फिर से सोचिएगा ! हो सकता है आप ‘एस्पार्टेम’ से बनी कोल्ड ड्रिंक पी रहे हों। हाल की समाचार रिपोर्टों के अनुसार, विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन (डब्ल्यूएचओ) जल्द ही इसे ‘कैंसर’ होने की संभावना वाले पदार्थों की सूची में डालने वाला है। एस्पार्टेम, एक रासायनिक रूप से प्राप्त कम कैलोरी वाला स्वीटनर है जो चीनी की तुलना में 180 गुना अधिक मीठा होता है। इसका इस्तेमाल काफी सारे खाद्य उत्पादों में किया जाता है। इनमें कार्बोनेटेड सॉफ्ट ड्रिंक, बिवरेज, कन्फेक्शनरी, बेकरी प्रोजेक्ट, ब्रेकफास्ट सीरियल, शुगर-फ्री पुडिंग, शुगर-फ्री जैम, पाउडर बिवरेज और रेडी टू कुक फूड शामिल हैं। दरअसल इस स्वीटनर को "शुगर फ्री" खाद्य उत्पादों या "डाइट" सोफ्ट ड्रिंक में धड़ल्ले से इस्तेमाल किया जाता है। करोड़ों डॉलर की एफएमसीजी कंपनियां लागत में कटौती करने के लिए अपने उत्पादों में एस्पार्टेम मिलाती हैं और साथ ही अपने पैकेज्ड उत्पादों का स्वाद भी बढ़ाती हैं। लेकिन यह सब आम जनता की सेहत को ताक पर रख कर किया जाता है। 29 जून को, ब्रिटिश समाचार एजेंसी ‘रॉयटर्स’ ने अपनी रिपोर्ट में बताया कि दो अज्ञात स्रोतों के अनुसार, इंटरनेशनल एजेंसी फॉर रिसर्च ऑन कैंसर (आईएआरसी) इन स्वीटनर को उन पदार्थों की सूची में रख सकती है जो 'संभवतः कैंसरकारी' हैं। आईएआरसी डब्ल्यूएचओ की कैंसर रिसर्च शाखा है। रॉयटर्स की रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है, "आईएआरसी के एक प्रवक्ता ने बताया कि आईएआरसी और जेईसीएफए (डब्ल्यूएचओ और फूड एंड एग्रीकल्चर ऑर्गेनाइजेशन एक्सपर्ट कमेटी ऑन फूड एडिटिव) दोनों समितियों के निष्कर्ष जुलाई तक गोपनीय थे, लेकिन उन्होंने कहा कि वे "कॉम्पलीमेंट्री" थे। आईएआरसी का निष्कर्ष कैंसरजन्यता को समझने के लिए पहला मौलिक कदम के बारे में बताते हैं।” कुल 322 पदार्थ हैं, जो डब्ल्यूएचओ की 'संभावित कार्सिनोजेनिक' श्रेणी में आते हैं। इसमें एलोवेरा अर्क, मादक पेय, कॉफी और कोयले की धूल भी शामिल हैं। कमजोर नियम और खाद्य लेबलिंग का अभाव हालिया समाचार रिपोर्ट ने दुनिया भर में चिंता की लहर पैदा कर दी है। गाँव कनेक्शन ने भारत पर इसके प्रभाव को समझने के लिए क्षेत्र के विशेषज्ञों से संपर्क किया। उद्योग और नियामक व्यवस्था के विशेषज्ञ चंद्र भूषण ने कहा कि भारत में खाद्य नियम बहुत ढीले हैं और इसे लेकर बने कानून तो और भी बदतर है। एफएसएसएआई भारत सरकार के स्वास्थ्य और परिवार कल्याण मंत्रालय के तहत स्थापित एक वैधानिक निकाय है, और भारत में खाद्य सुरक्षा और रेगुलेशन से संबंधित एक समेकित क़ानून है। यह भारत में निम्नलिखित उत्पादों में एस्पार्टेम (निर्दिष्ट मात्रा में) मिलाने को मंज़ूरी देता है। • सॉफ्ट ड्रिंक • बिस्कुट, ब्रेड, केक और पेस्ट्री • पारंपरिक मिठाइयाँ • जैम, जेली और मुरब्बा •चॉकलेट • शूगर /शूगर फ्री कन्फेक्शनरी • च्युइंग गम/बबल गम • कस्टर्ड पाउडर मिक्स • फ्रूट/ वेजिटेबल नेक्टर • आइसक्रीम, फ्रोज़न मिठाई और हलवा • फ्लेवर्ड मिल्क • रेडी टू सर्व टी /कॉफी •दही भूषण दिल्ली स्थित गैर-लाभकारी संगठन, आईफॉरेस्ट (इंटरनेशनल फोरम फॉर एनवायरमेंट, सस्टेनेबिलिटी एंड टेक्नोलॉजी) के मुख्य कार्यकारी अधिकारी हैं। हालिया समाचार रिपोर्ट और एस्पार्टेम को 'कैंसर होने की संभावना वाले पदार्थों की सूची में डाले जाने के बारे में बात करते हुए गांव कनेक्शन से कहा , “कैंसर होने की संभावना वाली सूची में एस्पार्टेम को रखना सिर्फ एक चेतावनी है। कैंसरजन्यता की चार कैटेगरी हैं। उसमें से एस्पार्टेम को तीसरी कैटेगरी में रखा गया है। दुनिया भर की सरकारें इस कैटेगरी के कारण किसी पदार्थ पर प्रतिबंध लगाने या उस पर अंकुश लगाने के आदेश जारी नहीं करती हैं। साफ है एफएसएसएआई इसके इस्तेमाल को लेकर किसी भी तरह का अंकुश लगाने के लिए कोई आदेश जारी नहीं करेगी।" भूषण ने कहा, सबसे बड़ा मुद्दा भारत में खाद्य उत्पादों की लेबलिंग और लोगों के बीच जागरूकता के खराब स्तर को लेकर है। उन्होंने कहा, “उत्पादों पर लेबलिंग इस तरह से की जानी चाहिए कि आम जनता समझ सके। लेबल पर रसायनों के नाम लिखना बेकार है क्योंकि अधिकतर लोगों को इन रसायनों के बारे में जानकारी नहीं होती है। लेबलिंग दिशानिर्देशों को बदला जाना चाहिए ताकि लोग दी गई सूचना के आधार पर निर्णय ले सकें।” लेकिन कंपनियाँ जानबूझकर अपने उत्पादों में एस्पार्टेम क्यों मिलाती हैं? एस्पार्टेम का आविष्कार 1965 में जेम्स एम. श्लैटर नाम के एक अमेरिकी केमिस्ट ने किया था। यूनाइटेड स्टेट फूड एंड ड्रग एडमिनिस्ट्रेशन (यूएसएफडीए) के अनुसार, खाद्य उत्पाद बनाने वाली कंपनियां उत्पादों को मीठा करने के लिए चीनी पर लागत में कटौती करने के लिए एस्पार्टेम का इस्तेमाल करती हैं। उन्होंने अपनी वेबसाइट में एक लेख ‘एस्पार्टेम एंड अदर स्वीटनर्स इन फूड’ में इसका जिक्र करते हुए लिखा है, “एस्पार्टेम, सुक्रालोज और स्टीविया जैसे पदार्थ मिठास या चीनी के विकल्प हैं और इनका इस्तेमाल उत्पादों को मीठा करने के लिए किया जाता है। कुछ मामलों में तो ये खाद्य पदार्थों के स्वाद को बढ़ाते हैं। ये आर्टिफिशियल शुगर आम चीनी की तुलना में अधिक मीठी होती हैं। चीनी जितनी मिठास पाने के लिए इसकी थोड़ी सी मात्रा काफी होती है।'' एस्पार्टेम का असर? कई शोध अध्ययन एस्पार्टेम से होने वाले स्वास्थ्य ज़ोखिमों को रेखांकित करते हैं। एक गैर-लाभकारी खोजी सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य अनुसंधान और पत्रकारिता समूह ‘यूएस राइट टू नो’ के अनुसार एस्पार्टेम के इस्तेमाल से कैंसर, ब्रेन ट्यूमर, हृदय रोग, स्ट्रोक, डिमेंशिया, अल्जाइमर, न्यूरो टॉक्सिसिटी, ब्रेन डैमेज और मूड डिसऑर्डर हो सकते हैं। 4 मार्च, 2022 को एक पीर रिव्यूड मेडिकल जर्नल पीएलओएस मेडिसिन में प्रकाशित शोध पत्र के अनुसार, गन्ने की चीनी की तुलना में बहुत कम कैलोरी होने के बावज़ूद कृत्रिम मिठास (विशेष रूप से एस्पार्टेम और एसेसल्फेम-के), कैंसर के बढ़ते ज़ोखिम से जुड़े हैं। इनका इस्तेमाल दुनियाभर के कई खाद्य पदार्थों और ड्रिंक्स में किया जाता है। " शोध में उल्लेख किया गया था, "ये निष्कर्ष यूरोपीय खाद्य सुरक्षा प्राधिकरण और वैश्विक स्तर पर अन्य स्वास्थ्य एजेंसियों द्वारा फूड एडिटिव स्वीटनर पर चल अध्ययन में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाएंगे। इससे इन शोधों को नई अंतर्दृष्टि मिलेगी।" यूएसएफडीए ने रोज़ाना शरीर के वजन के हिसाब से प्रति किलोग्राम (मिलीग्राम/किग्रा) 50 मिलीग्राम एस्पार्टेम की एक्सेप्टेबल डेली इनटेक(एडीआई) की स्वीकृति दी हुई है। वहीं यूरोपियन फूड सेफ्टी अथॉरिटी (ईएफएसए) ने रोज़ 40 मिलीग्राम/किलोग्राम का थोड़ा कम एडीआई स्थापित किया है। कनाडा के फूड डायरेक्टरेट ऑफ हेल्थ के वैज्ञानिकों ने 40 मिलीग्राम/किग्रा शरीर के वजन/दिन का एडीआई स्थापित किया है। एक्सेप्टेबल डेली इनटेक या एडीआई किसी पदार्थ के एक व्यक्ति के जीवन में ऱोजाना खाए जाने की तय मात्रा है, जो महत्वपूर्ण शोध के आधार पर मानव उपभोग के लिए सुरक्षित मानी जाती है। एफएसएसएआई और कृत्रिम मिठास भारत में, एफएसएसएआई ने छह कृत्रिम मिठास को मंज़ूरी दी हुई है। इनमें एस्पार्टेम, सैकरीन सोडियम, एसेसल्फेम पोटेशियम, सुक्रालोज़, नियोटेम और आइसोमाल्टोज शामिल हैं। एफएसएसएआई के खाद्य सुरक्षा और मानक (लेबलिंग और डिस्पले) विनियम, 2020 के अनुसार, एस्पार्टेम वाले हर पैकेज पर एक बॉक्स में चेतावनी या घोषणा होनी चाहिए, जिसमें लिखा होना चाहिए: "बच्चों के लिए नहीं"; “फेनिलकेटोन्यूरिक्स के लिए रिकमंडेड नहीं; दौरे पड़ने वाले लोगों के लिए नहीं, गर्भवती और स्तनपान कराने वाली माताएँ इसका इस्तेमाल न करें।" डब्ल्यूएचओ द्वारा आगामी घोषणा के बारे में ख़बरों को लेकर बात करते हुए, दिल्ली स्थित थिंक टैंक सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट में सस्टेनेबल फूड सिस्टम कार्यक्रम के निदेशक अमित खन्ना ने कहा कि इसके बारे में टिप्पणी करना जल्दबाज़ी होगी। खन्ना ने गाँव कनेक्शन को बताया, “ऐसी रिपोर्टें इतनी मज़बूत नहीं होती कि उन पर टिप्पणी की जा सके। ऐसी रिपोर्टों के पीछे कई कारण हो सकते हैं। ऐसी रिपोर्ट पर प्रतिक्रिया देना अटकलबाजी होगी, लेकिन अगर डब्ल्यूएचओ वास्तव में औपचारिक घोषणा करता है, तो भारतीय खाद्य नियामकों को भविष्य में उचित कार्रवाई करनी होगी।” भारतीय सेना से सेवानिवृत्त सतीश गादी ने बताया कि सरकारी हस्तक्षेप अकेले खाद्य सुरक्षा में सकारात्मक बदलाव नहीं ला सकता है। गादी गुड़गाँव स्थित चिकित्सक हैं और भारतीय रेलवे के मुख्य चिकित्सा निदेशक के रूप में कार्य कर चुके हैं। उन्होंने कहा, “यह सब बड़े पैमाने पर लोगों की सामाजिक-आर्थिक स्थितियों पर निर्भर करता है। ऐसे देश के लिए जहाँ भूख और अभाव खुद में एक बड़ी चिंता का विषय है, लोगों से कार्सिनोजेन्स के बारे में चिंतित होने की उम्मीद करना ठीक नहीं है। एफएसएसएआई अकेले ऐसे मुद्दों का प्रबंधन नहीं कर सकता है और सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य पूरी सरकार, समाज और कल्याण समूहों का दायित्व है।” एक समाचार रिपोर्ट में एफएसएसएआई के एक प्रवक्ता के हवाले से कहा गया, "हमारा वैज्ञानिक पैनल डब्ल्यूएचओ के दिशानिर्देश की विस्तार से जाँच और मूल्यांकन कर रहा है।"

This Week in the War on Women, 6/25-7/1/23: Women in Climate

As I look out the window at the haze from Canada’s worst wildfire season in decades, despite our location in upstate NY being about 500 miles away from the nearest flames, I think “surely there are lots of women fighting this mess”. “This mess” meaning the climate crisis responsible for fires and other disasters. And finding some of these female climate change leaders was easy: Sunita Narain is the DIrector General of the Centre for Science and Environment. She has worked on water management, tiger conservation, air pollution, and now climate change. She writes and edits, has worked with the Indian government, and received multiple awards including the “Water Nobel Prize”. She co-wrote Global Warming in an Unequal World: A case of environmental colonialism, which can be downloaded here.

Let decentralised renewable energy be the solution to the Northeast’s energy woes

The National Seminar on Promotion of Clean Energy Access in Northeast India held in Shillong on June 23, 2023, focused on enhancing energy access through clean energy sources. The event was organised by Delhi-based think tankCentre for Science and Environment (CSE), with support from Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States under the aegis of Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It was hosted by Meghalaya New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (MNREDA). The seminar was attended by several dignitaries including the Minister of Power, Government of Meghalaya. The event saw a great level of participation from stakeholders across the region. Northeast India strongly relies upon hydroelectricity for most of its power needs. However, rainfall has reduced due to climate change and hence reservoir levels have been consistently going down over the years. The region has been facing relatively longer power outages as the generation has come down. The Northeast is looking for alternate sources of power. The region presents ample opportunity for Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) as it is home to abundant availability of biomass such as bamboo, banana and pineapple plantations, alongwith significant potential for solar PV and small and micro hydro systems. The Northeast has a significant installed capacity of small hydro systems which is about seven per cent of the total installed capacity for small hydro in India. Although small and micro hydro intervention are things of the past, there is an opportunity to restructure and upgrade existing systems of this kind. Resource mapping also needs to be redone with the help of more advanced technologies like drones, remote sensing and geographical information systems as compared to the mapping techniques used in the past. The North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) and Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati presented their work on technology development during the event. Customised Energy Solutions (CES) presented its work on fostering micro entrepreneurial activities in the region. State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland showcased innovative interventions in their respective states along with the challenges faced by them in implementing and scaling up programs designed and conceptualised by MNRE for the region. MNRE has been instrumental in supporting SNAs by motivating them to look for avenues in DRE and offering support to them with existing institutional strength. It will not be incorrect to say that SNAs, being the nodal organisations to drive DRE and energy access work in the states, need to be pushed by enhancing their skills with adequate training and capacity building activities. A concerted effort from all relevant stakeholders, with the right approach and coordination, can yield results beyond expectations. This was made evident in the case of Tripura which has been doing exemplary work in reaching rural areas with effective energy access solutions. As next steps, CSE proposes to form a Regional Steering Committee to provide guidance and direction to energy access development in the region. The committee will be formed and announced by CSE shortly, with participation from all stakeholders. This cannot be a one-off activity. More of such discussions need to happen as is evidently clear by media coverage the seminar garnered. The people of the Northeast have shown immense aspiration for energy-based interventions to keep pace with the developments happening around the world. But they have been provided with limited options to realise and follow those aspirations. The need of the hour is to look at DRE as a mainstream power system in parallel with the grid in the Northeast region. This requires several challenges to be addressed pertaining to the high cost of DRE power, limited understanding of the potential in the region, and low awareness about policies and institutional capacities. There also needs to be clear intent to implement. There is no dearth of schemes and programmes that can be implemented for the betterment of the region, as pointed out by MNRE as well. What is stopping these schemes and programmes from seeing the light of the day and scaling up in the region needs to be understood objectively. The event, as was agreed by many, was an eye opener and has provided participants, various stakeholders, and people of the Northeast with many questions and concerns to ponder. With a dismal electricity footprint per capita in the region which stands at less than 500 units annually and 7 out of 10 bottom states exhibiting severe energy deprivation being from the Northeast, let DRE be the leading solution to some of those questions and concerns.

CAQM gives 'green' DG sets a hard push in NCR, sets Sept 30 deadline

GURGAON: Beginning October 1, diesel generator (DG) sets can't be operated in NCR - not even for essential services - if they haven't been retrofitted with emission control devices or shifted to run on cleaner fuels, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) announced on Wednesday. CAQM, the expert task force that decides and enforces measures to cut down NCR's perennial air pollution problem, on Thursday issued a revised schedule for regulating the use of DG sets in NCR. According to the order, all residential, commercial and industrial establishments have to switch to modified generators, which emit relatively lower pollutants than their diesel counterparts, by September 30. This includes hospitals, societies, offices and factories. The blanket ban is to be followed at all times; it is not limited to the months when the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for air pollution is in effect, according to the order. GRAP consists of a set of measures that are annually taken with the onset of winter, when NCR turns into a chamber of toxic haze. Power backup devices are widely used across Delhi-NCR because transmission lines remain prone to snags, causing localised outages in packed cities. In Gurgaon, power cuts in townships and condominiums are also caused by a mismatch in the required and sanctioned load capacity. Before this CAQM order, there was a window for DG sets to be used for essential services such as lifts, escalators and common areas when GRAP came into force in winter. This exception will close this year. "It was accordingly also directed that retrofitting of dual fuel kits or ECDs, wherever warranted as per the revised schedule, must be targeted to be completed latest by September 30, 2023, failing which the use of the diesel genset shall not be permitted under any circumstances, anywhere in the entire NCR, including for use in essential services, etc." the June 28 order said. Gensets that run on diesel are highly polluting devices. An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found that one DG set of 250kVA emits 3kg of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 1.5kg of carbon monoxide (CO) and 0.183kg of PM10 pollutant on an average if it operates three hours in a day. According to the data collected by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the organised sector in NCR adds 1.2 lakh DG sets every year, and another 30,000-40,000 machines are annually bought by unorganised sectors. CAQM's effort to phase out DG sets over the years have met resistance from residential clusters and industries, which say the cost of modifying the devices is high or switching to cleaner fuels isn't an option when there is no availability of piped natural gas (PNG) in some areas. The panel, in its latest order, attempted to address these reasons. "By far, major residential, commercial, and industrial pockets in NCR have access to PNG infrastructure and supply. Even where a dedicated supply of gas may not be feasible, viable, gas availability through cascades and cylinders is a convenient option," read the order. Similarly, on the issue of expenses, the order said the cost of retrofitting emission control devices (ECDs) "would almost be equal to the cost of a new DG set", particularly the low-capacity ones normally used by MSMEs in NCR. From October, DG sets with capacity between 19kW and 125kW will have to operate on dual fuel mode, but these devices can only be used for a maximum of two hours a day when GRAP restrictions are in place. DG sets with a power capacity of 125kW to 800kW will have to run on dual fuel mode and will also have to be retrofitted with ECDs. Gensets over 800kW have to be retrofitted with dual fuel kits or with ECDs, but these too can be operated up to two hours a day if GRAP is in effect. There is no bar to new gensets (up to 800kW) that adhere to CAQM's standards, the order said. On Thursday, experts said cities' dependence on DG sets must be dealt with eventually to do away with the need to use them. "If there is uninterrupted electricity to all houses, industries, hospitals, etc. there would be no need to rely on DG sets. Apart from air pollution, diesel emissions are carcinogenic to humans who have high exposure to fumes from DG sets. Now, efforts should be made to enforce compliance of CAQM's rules," said Anumita Roy Chowdhary, executive director for research and advocacy at CSE. RWA president of SARE Homes in Sector 92, reacting to the CAQM's order, said the burden of modifying generator sets will fall on the residents. "The ideal solution would be for the government to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply," Praveen Malik said. Asked how Haryana will enforce the new norms, state pollution board (HSPCB) chairperson P Raghavendra Rao told TOI: "We will sensitise all the stakeholders and do our best."

Senegal signs Just Energy Transition Partnership deal after South Africa, Indonesia & Vietnam

The deal will mobilise 2.5 billion euros for Senegal & will help increase the share of renewable energy installed capacity to 40% As the discussions around just energy transition and fossil fuel phase out ramps up globally, alongside the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, yet another name got added to the list of countries that have signed a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) deal. Senegal has become the fourth country after South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam to sign the JET-P deal, with the International Partners Group comprising France, Germany, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada. The deal was announced June 22, 2023 and will mobilise 2.5 billion euros for Senegal in new and additional financing over an initial period of 3-5 years. The European Commission’s official website said the finance would come from international partners and multilateral development banks and a draft investment plan will be prepared within 12 months. The partnership will offer significant opportunities for investment from the private sector, sovereign wealth funds and philanthropic foundations, according to the official website of the President of France. No mention of grants or concessional loans being a part of the finance was found in the official statements. The official website of the President of France also mentions that the partnership will help accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and increase the share of renewable energy to 40 per cent in terms of installed capacity of Senegal’s electricity mix by 2030. It will also help with the publication of a vision for a long-term greenhouse gas emission development strategy for Senegal by COP28, due to be finalised in 2024. Senegal’s new nationally determined contributions, which were to be published at COP30, will reflect the climate ambitions undertaken in this deal. The current share of renewable energy in Senegal is around 31 per cent of the installed capacity. A 2015 Senegal government planning document had set a target of 20 per cent renewable energy in the electricity mix by 2020 and 23 per cent in 2030. The same year, a new target for 30 per cent of photovoltaic and wind in the electricity generation mix was set for 2025. The 20 per cent target for renewable energy production in the electricity mix was achieved by 2021. Under this deal the installed capacity target stands at 40 per cent for 2030, but there isn’t any electricity generation target set under the deal as of now. As of 2020-21, the total installed capacity for power generation in Senegal was around 1.2 to 1.5 gigawatts, generating 5.6 terrawatt-hours of electricity. The country currently relies heavily on imported fossil fuels to meet its energy demands. Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) was responsible for generation of around 85 per cent of the electricity for the country back in 2010, although this share has come down substantially due to a large shift towards gas and some coal as well as the recently growing solar and wind. But still, HFO continues to hold the largest share of fuel in the electricity mix of the country. Senegal adopted a gas-to-power strategy in 2018, following discoveries of oil and gas reserves between 2014 and 2017. “We will allow Senegal to develop its gas projects because gas is a transitional energy. What we want to do is get the big emerging countries out of coal as a priority,” said French President Emmanuel Macron during the Paris Finance Summit. It is rather rare to hear the Global North advocating for emerging economies to use natural gas as a bridge fuel — usually the expectation is to directly switch from coal / oil to renewables. But the question is: What is different in this case? Is it about fulfilling Europe’s own need for natural gas through export? In 2022, a Germany-Senegal gas plan came up, under which the German government was supporting the Senegalese government in export of gas and LNG resources to Europe and in ensuring that the extracted gas can be used by domestic power plants as well, according to Deutsche Welle, a German news broadcaster. Infrastructure to export the gas, including a floating terminal for LNG, is already being built in Senegal. The first flows of fossil gas from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim field are expected in December 2023. It is one of the single-largest gas projects in Senegal. The African civil society has been raising voices against obtrusion by the Global North in Africa’s natural resources and energy policies. Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, tweeted in response to President Macron’s statement: As of 2021, the population of Senegal was 16.8 million, according to the World Bank. Alongside signing the JET-P deal, a big challenge for Senegal is that of providing energy access to all its population. Approximately 4.8 million people (slightly below 30 per cent) still lack access to electricity in the country (especially in the rural areas) and are dependent on polluting energy sources like firewood and charcoal for cooking. The country has targeted to provide electricity access to all its citizens by 2025. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his views on their JET-P deal at the Paris Finance Summit, saying “The financing of $8.5 billion offered to South Africa has been far below their estimated need of $98 billion and we must have a greater emphasis on grants and concessional loans.” Moreover, a recent report titled Beyond Climate Finance by Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found that Senegal is one of the developing countries whose annual debt burden exceeds the cost of achieving its climate goal or NDC. “A high debt burden coupled with high cost of capital makes renewable energy unaffordable in many developing countries,” said Avantika Goswami, Programme Manager, Climate Change at CSE and a co-author of the report. “For this reason, there have been calls from many developing country leaders for more concessional and grant-based funding to be channelled for climate mitigation and adaptation, and this is crucial for energy transition”. Senegal annually emits around 13.6 million tonnes of CO2, excluding land use change, which is hardly .03 per cent of the global CO2 emissions (37.12 billion tonnes) as of 2021. Clearly the need for action is much more globally (including Global North) and especially support for renewable energy growth is required in the Global South, where the cost of capital for renewable energy is still very high. Nivit Yadav, Programme Manager, Industry Unit, Centre for Science and Environment, said, “The past JET-P deals have largely been focusing on coal phase out and have had targets on capping coal based power in a country, whereas in this deal, for now what seems like a positive point is that its major focus is on enabling the growth of RE rather than acting as a stick on the fossil economy.” In the past few months, there were a lot of back channel talks going on about the possibility of India signing a similar JET-P deal, but they didn’t yield a concrete outcome. The discussions over a JET-P deal with India have still not found a final conclusion due to these three major reasons: First, the huge scale and the diverse and complex ownership of the Indian power sector, which makes it challenging to make everyone agree on the same terms; second, the nature of majority of finance under the past deals being in the form of loans as in the case of South Africa; and third, to have absolutely no form of international condition or compromise with respect to India’s energy security and development, said Yadav. “Any such deal with India could happen only if India’s conditions are well considered.” We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.

CAQM issues Sept 30 deadline for retrofitting DG sets in NCR

On June 2, the CAQM had issued similar directions on the use of DG sets and said only retrofitted, 19kW generators will be allowed to operate even when the graded response action plan (Grap) is not in effect The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Wednesday issued fresh regulations for the use of diesel generator (DG) sets in the National Capital Region (NCR) and reiterated that all government and private establishments must use DG sets that are of a capacity of over 19 kilowatts (kW) and are retrofitted with emission control devices (ECDs) or dual fuel kits of natural gas and diesel. All establishments have been given time till September 30, the CAQM said, post which the use of diesel generators will not be allowed in any circumstance anywhere in the NCR. It also stressed that DG sets under 19 kW will not be allowed even for emergency services, and both private and government establishments must ensure compliance of these directions. By installing a dual fuel kit, a generator can use both diesel as well as greener fuels such as CNG or PNG to produce electricity. The generator sets running on gas are cleaner and produce less pollution as compared to DG sets, according to energy experts. The direction issued by CAQM on June 28 said,” The commission issued a revised schedule for regulated operations of DG sets across all sectors in the NCR, including industrial, commercial, residential and office establishments etc. which would come in force in the entire NCR strictly w.e.f 01. 10.2023. It was accordingly also directed that retrofitting of dual fuel kits or ECDs, wherever warranted as per the revised schedule, must be targeted to be completed latest by 30.09.2023, failing which the use of the diesel genset shall not be permitted under any circumstance, anywhere in the entire NCR including for use in essential services.” On June 2, the CAQM had issued similar directions on the use of DG sets and said only retrofitted, 19kW generators will be allowed to operate even when the graded response action plan (Grap) is not in effect. In the previous years, the commission had allowed the use of diesel sets for essential and emergency services such as operations of Metro stations, airports, health-care facilities and similar establishments. The latest directions by the commission had not gone down well with the industry bodies and Gurugram residents, who claimed that it was costly and difficult to convert DG sets to dual fuel mode or retrofit it with ECDs. Pravin Malik, president, United Association of New Gurugram, a group of residents’ welfare associations, said the process of converting the generators to dual fuel mode is very costly, making it prohibitive for an average RWA. “The government should focus on building adequate electricity infrastructure as there are several areas where the supply lines are not adequate, and connection is taken from rural feeders. Residents in such places are forced to use DG sets. The cost of retrofitting is very high and government should focus on providing power 24x7 power,” he said. The industrialists said a majority of units were small and medium enterprises and it was beyond their capacity to spend around ₹45-50 lakh for a single conversion. “Large industries may be able to afford this cost but it is impossible for medium enterprises to spend lakhs on this. Also, the permission to run these units is only for two hours a day. Spending such huge amounts on conversion is not viable under the circumstance,” Sumit Rao, general secretary, Gurgaon Industrial Association. The association also said government should ensure 24-hour power supply so that there is no need to run DG sets. Running diesel generators , as per experts, leads to emission of carbon monoxide, nitrogen and other particulate matter which causes serious air pollution and health issues in humans. They also said people living near DG sets are prone to several diseases related to lungs, hardening of arteries and other issues. Anumita Roy Chowdhary, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre of Science and Environment said that there is need to strengthen electricity supply and distribution in NCR. “Emission from diesel is carcinogenic and it is important to curb the use of gensets and these should be run on dual fuel kits,” she said. When asked about what steps DHBVN is taking to ensure uninterrupted power supply, Sanjay Chugh, spokesperson of the utility. said all efforts are being made to ensure continuous supply in Gurugram and adjoining areas so that there is minimum need to use gensets. “We have already improved power supply in the city, and reduced our response time to manage faults. A large number of industrial and commercial establishments, particularly hospitals, have been given a dedicated powerline to ensure continuous supply,” he said.

Reconciliation of energy use disparities in brick production in India

Abstract Energy conservation in brick production is crucial to achieving net-zero carbon emissions from the building sector, especially in countries with major expansions in the built environment. However, widely disparate energy consumption estimates impede benchmarking its importance relative to the steel and cement industries. Here we modelled Indian brick production and its regional energy consumption by combining a nationwide questionnaire survey on feedstock, process variables and practices with remote sensing data on kiln enumeration. We found a large underreporting in current official estimates of energy consumption, with actual energy consumption comparable to that in the steel and cement industries in the country. With a total estimated production of 233 ± 15 billion bricks per year, the brick industry consumes 990 ± 125 PJ yr−1 of energy, 35 ± 6 Mt yr−1 coal and 25 ± 6 Mt yr−1 biomass. The main drivers of energy consumption for brick production are the kiln technology, the production capacity and the fuel mix used. The results suggest that improving operating practices would be a first step in making brick production more energy efficient. Main Reducing the embodied energy of buildings (that is, the energy consumed in the production of building materials such as steel, cement, aluminium and bricks) is critical to achieving net-zero emissions from the building sector1,2, especially in developing countries such as India, where construction activity is expected to double by mid-century3. While energy conservation targets have been proposed for India’s formal industries4 (steel, cement and aluminium), there are no mandates to regulate energy consumption in the brick industry. According to India’s latest Biennial Update Report (BUR)5 submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the brick industry accounts for a meagre share of the sector’s energy consumption. However, substantial discrepancies exist in the estimated fuel consumption of the brick industry, with the BUR figures differing by a factor of 10–100 from those reported in official statistics6 and expert studies7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 (Supplementary Table 1). This leads to uncertainties in the relative importance of the brick industry compared to other construction-related industries. Several factors lead to such disagreements in energy consumption. First, incomplete recording by official sources. In practice, official statistics6 rely on coal receipts to estimate industrial coal use. However, unlike formal industries such as steel and cement, the brick industry in India is highly unorganized, with no complete record of the actual coal supply and consumption. In addition, the industry also relies on biomass fuels, which are sourced locally and are not captured in official records. Second, there is no official production data to correlate with reported coal consumption. Third, expert studies7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 lack methodological detail. Estimates are typically based on rough bottom-up calculations of activity and distribution of kiln technologies at the national level without considering regional differences in operating practices. Finally, despite consultation among brick manufacturers and independent groups of industry experts, an extreme paucity of datasets has impeded robust energy benchmarking for this industry. Therefore, this study aims to resolve the disparities in energy consumption in brick production through a transparent framework that includes sufficient information on raw materials, process variables, practices and kiln counts, with attention to regional diversity. As a result, this study contributes to improving future life-cycle assessments of Indian brick production by generating a new dataset of regional inputs for evaluating the embodied energy of fired-clay bricks. Framework design The analysis presented here is based on input from field surveys, remote sensing data and secondary data. Digitally recorded in-person surveys of over 500 kilns—a mix of Bull’s trench kilns (BTKs), clamps and zigzag kilns—spread across 25 districts in 9 states (Supplementary Table 2) were analysed to determine the regional mean distribution of kilns by production capacity, type of fuel mix, brick characteristics (that is, mass and dimensions) and energy performance. The survey responses reveal notable differences in kiln characteristics across six broad regions of India: North, Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), North-East, East, Peninsula and West (Supplementary Tables 3–6). Three data sources were used to determine kiln density (number of kilns per district): manual scanning of high-resolution satellite imagery of major brick-producing districts in India (Supplementary Fig 2), Right to Information (RTI) petitions registered with state pollution control boards and information available on government websites. These were used to compile a list of over 150 districts and the number of kilns in each (hereafter ‘enumerated districts’). The richness of the data is reflected in the complementary interactions between the different data sources (Fig. 1). The remotely enumerated districts and the decadal changes in brick-walled houses derived from the census data were used to develop a model for estimating brick production at the state level. Regional mean coefficients (corresponding to each state, Supplementary Table 3) from field surveys were used to disaggregate production by key operational characteristics for each state. Finally, they were combined with the corresponding energy performance metric to obtain total and subnational energy consumption by kiln technology and fuel mix. Kumar, R. & Yadav, N. K. Makeover: Conversion of Brick Kilns in Delhi-ncr to a Cleaner Technology—a Status Report (Centre for Science and Environment, 2018).