• Director General Office

World leaders and experts call for significant reduction in the use of antimicrobial drugs in global food systems

Global leaders and experts today called for a significant and urgent reduction in the amounts of antimicrobial drugs, including antibiotics, used in food systems recognizing this as critical to combatting rising levels of drug resistance. The Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance- today called upon all countries to significantly reduce the levels of antimicrobial drugs used in global food systems. This includes stopping the use of medically important antimicrobial drugs to promote growth in healthy animals and using antimicrobial drugs more responsibly overall. The call comes ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit which takes place in New York on 23 September 2021 where countries will discuss ways to transform global food systems. The Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance includes heads of state, government ministers, and leaders from private sector and civil society. The group was established in November 2020 to accelerate global political momentum, leadership and action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and is co-chaired by their Excellencies Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, and Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Reducing the use of antimicrobials in food systems is key to conserving their effectiveness The Global Leaders Group’s statement calls for bold action from all countries and leaders across sectors to tackle drug resistance. A top priority call to action is to use antimicrobial drugs more responsibily in food systems and markedly reduce the use of drugs that are of greatest importance to treating diseases in humans, animals and plants. Other key calls to action for all countries include: Ending the use of antimicrobial drugs that are of critical importance to human medicine to promote growth in animals. Limiting the amount of antimicrobial drugs administered to prevent infection in healthy animals and plants and ensuring that ll use is performed with regulatory oversight. Eliminating or significantly reducing over-the-counter sales of antimicrobial drugs that are important for medical or veterinary purposes. Reducing the overall need for antimicrobial drugs by improving infection prevention and control, hygiene, biosecurity and vaccination programmes in agriculture and aquaculture. Ensuring access to quality and affordable antimicrobials for animal and human health and promoting innovation of evidence based and sustainable alternatives to antimicrobials in food systems. Inaction will have dire consequences for human, animal, plant and environmental health Antimicrobial drugs- (including antibiotics, antifungals and antiparasitics)- are used in food production all over the world. Antimicrobial drugs are administered to animals not only for veterinary purposes (to treat and prevent disease), but also to promote growth in healthy animals. Antimicrobial pesticides are also used in agriculture to treat and prevent diseases in plants. Sometimes antimicrobials used in food systems are the same as or similar to those used to treat humans. Current usage in humans, animals and plants is leading to a concerning rise in drug-resistance and making infections harder to treat. Climate change may also be contributing to an increase in antimicrobial resistance. Drug-resistant diseases already cause at least 700,000 human deaths globally every year. Whilst there have been substantial reductions in antibiotic use in animals globally, further reductions are needed. Without immediate and drastic action to significantly reduce levels of antimicrobial use in food systems, the world is rapidly heading towards a tipping point where the antimicrobials relied on to treat infections in humans, animals and plants will no longer be effective. The impact on local and global health systems, economies, food security and food systems will be devastating. “We cannot tackle rising levels of antimicrobial resistance without using antimicrobial drugs more sparingly across all sectors” says co-chair of the Global Leader Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, Her Excellency Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados. “The world is in a race against antimicrobial resistance, and it’s one that we cannot afford to lose.’ Reducing the use of antimicrobial drugs in food systems must be a priority for all countries “Using antimicrobial drugs more responsibly in food systems needs to be a top priority for all countries” says Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance co-chair Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. “Collective action across all relevant sectors is crucial to protect our most precious medicines, for the benefit of everyone, everywhere.” Consumers in all countries can play a key role by choosing food products from producers that use antimicrobial drugs responsibly. Investors can also contribute by investing in sustainable food systems. Investment is also urgently needed to develop effective alternatives to antimicrobial use in food systems, such as vaccines and alternative drugs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes to Editors: For interviews with members of the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance and further information please contact: Email: borgonhaa@who.int Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance statement on Antimicrobial Use in Food Systems Antimicrobial use in food systems[1] is common and has an influence on antimicrobial resistance in humans, animals, plants and the environment. Applying a One Health approach, there is a critical need to transform food systems to optimize animal, plant and environmental health, ensure responsible and sustainable antimicrobial use and most importantly, reduce the need to use antimicrobials and promote innovation for evidence-based and sustainable alternatives. Antimicrobials are important for animal health and welfare and plant production and access to quality and affordable antimicrobials needs to be ensured. However, changes to the current situation are urgently required. While there have been significant reductions in antimicrobial use in animals globally, further improvements to reduce their use and ensure responsible and sustainable use in food systems are both of the utmost importance and attainable. Although challenging in some situations, this must be prioritized by all countries, sectors and organizations. To promote the responsible and sustainable use of antimicrobials in food systems, the Global Leaders Group calls for the following: 1. Infection prevention and control All countries should prioritize infection prevention and control, including water, sanitation and hygiene, biosecurity and vaccination programmes as interventions to prevent and mitigate infectious disease risk and AMR across all sectors; and International technical, financing and research and development organizations and partners should support countries to improve access to and use of existing and new affordable diagnostic testing, disease prediction tools, vaccines, safe and efficacious non-antimicrobial alternatives and appropriate nutrition for infection prevention, control and treatment in terrestrial and aquatic animals, and where applicable for plants 2. Reducing antimicrobial use All countries should: Recognize the importance of antimicrobials for animal health and welfare and plant production in their national policies and regulatory frameworks and eliminate the use of antimicrobials to compensate for inadequate infection prevention and control, management and other modifiable deficiencies in management of animal and plant health; Markedly reduce the overall use of antimicrobials, particularly the Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials for terrestrial and aquatic animals and plants; End the use of medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion, starting immediately with the Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials, then continuing to other categories; and Limit antimicrobial prophylaxis and metaphylaxis in animals and plants to well-defined situations, with a goal of markedly reducing use and ensuring that all use is performed with regulatory oversight and under the direction of an authorized prescriber. 3. Oversight and governance All countries should: Ensure effective governance and professional oversight of the sales and use of antimicrobials and stewardship of antimicrobials in all sectors, including the development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines for treatment, control and prevention; and Eliminate or markedly reduce over-the-counter sales of antimicrobials that are important for medical or veterinary purposes and implement stringent rules to strengthen and increase professional oversight for terrestrial and aquatic animal and plant use. International technical, financing and research and development organizations and partners should: Establish mechanisms to improve and broaden appropriate access to good quality antimicrobials worldwide; and Encourage and support the development and improvement of comparable national and international surveillance systems to enable countries to establish antimicrobial use and resistance baselines and set progressive, ambitious, science-based and nationally relevant targets for responsible and sustainable antimicrobial use across all sectors. Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance background The Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance was established in November 2020 and performs an independent global advisory and advocacy role with the primary objective of maintaining urgency, public support, political momentum and visibility of the AMR challenge on the global agenda. The mission of the group is to collaborate globally with governments, agencies, civil society and the private sector through a One Health approach to advise on and advocate for political action for the mitigation of drug-resistant infections through responsible and sustainable access to and use of antimicrobials. The group is co-chaired by Their Excellencies Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados and is composed of heads of state, serving or former ministers and/or senior government officials acting in their individual capacities, together with senior representatives of foundations, civil society organizations and the private sector. It also includes principals of the Tripartite organizations - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) - in an ex-officio capacity. The Tripartite Joint Secretariat (TJS) on Antimicrobial Resistance, a joint effort by FAO, OIE and WHO, provides Secretariat support for the Group. Members of the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance Co-chairs: H.E. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister, BANGLADESH H.E. Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister, BARBADOS Members: Dr Hamad A. Al-Batshan, Deputy Minister for Innovation and Modern Technologies, Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, SAUDI ARABIA Dr Hasan Mohammed Abbas Al-Temimi, Minister of Health and Environment, IRAQ Ms Inger Anderson, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations and Executive Director, UN Environment Programme Ms Tamara van Ark, Minister for Medical Care and Sport, THE NETHERLANDS Prof António Correia de Campos, Former Minister of Health, Professor Emeritus of Health Economics, National School of Public Health, New University of Lisbon, PORTUGAL Prof C.O. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Former Minister of Health, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike, NIGERIA Dr Guilherme Antônio da Costa Júnior, Senior Agricultural Attaché, Mission of Brazil to the European Union, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, BRAZIL Prof Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance, UNITED KINGDOM Dr Maggie De Block, Former Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health, and Asylum and Migration, Member of Parliament, BELGIUM Dr QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Dr Monique Eloit, Director General, World Organisation for Animal Health Prof Sir Jeremy James Farrar, Director, Wellcome Trust, UNITED KINGDOM Dr Christopher Fearne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Member of Parliament, MALTA Mr Jean-Christophe Flatin, President of Innovation, Science, Technology & Mars Edge, Mars, Inc., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Member of Parliament, SINGAPORE Dr Julie Gerberding, Chief Patient Officer and Executive Vice President, Population Health & Sustainability, Merck & Co., Inc., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization Ms Lena Hallengren, Minister of Health and Social Affairs, SWEDEN Ms Sussan Ley, Minister for the Environment, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Member of Parliament, AUSTRALIA Ms Sunita Narain, Director-General, Centre for Science and Environment, INDIA Ms Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye, Former Minister of Livestock and Animal Production, Former Minister of Fisheries and the Maritime Economy, President of the High Council of Territorial Collectivities , SENEGAL Prof Anna Y. Popova, Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadzor), Chief Sanitary Physician of the Russian Federation, RUSSIAN FEDERATION Mr Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Former Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, Member of the House of Representatives, JAPAN Ms Dechen Wangmo, Minister of Health, BHUTAN Dr Jeffrey Scott Weese, Professor at the University of Guelph, Director of the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses, Chief of Infection Control at Ontario Veterinary College, CANADA Prof Lothar H. Wieler, President of the Robert Koch Institute, GERMANY Member biographies can be found at the link here. Headshots of members can be found at the link here. [1] FAO defines food systems as encompassing the entire range of actors and their interlinked value-adding activities involved in the production, aggregation, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food products that originate from agriculture, forestry or fisheries, and parts of the broader economic, societal and natural environments in which they are embedded. The food system is composed of sub-systems (e.g. farming system, waste management system, input supply system, etc.) and interacts with other key systems (e.g. energy system, trade system, health system, etc.)

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi's Fight Against Pollution: All You Need To Know About India's First Smog Tower

Estimated at a cost of Rs 20 crore, the experimental set up is supposed to purify air within a radius of 1 km around the structure at a rate of about 1,000 cubic metres of air per second. In a bid to combat the rising air pollution in the national capital, Delhi, on Monday, 23rd August, got its own 'smog tower' at Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Connaught Place. The tower was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ahead of the infamous smog season resulting due to the burning of crop residue by farmers. Estimated at a cost of ₹ 20 crore, the experimental set-up is supposed to purify air within a radius of 1 km around the structure at a rate of about 1,000 cubic metres of air per second. Inaugurating the much-anticipated facility, Kejriwal said that the state government would develop more such towers if it remains successful. What Is Smog Tower? Smog towers are defined as large-scale air purifiers to minimise the levels of air pollution. Multiple layers of air filters are fitted at the base to suck the air. After the filters suck the polluted air, it gets purified before being circulated again in the atmosphere. They work on the principle of HEPA filtration technology to weed out PM2.5 particles. Such methods are proven to be well established scientifically and used widely for purifying indoor oxygen where the exchange with the outdoor air is more petite. Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde built the first prototype of smog tower in 2017 in China's Beijing. It was built as a demonstration that converts the carbon in filtered particles into diamonds. Components Of Delhi's Smog Tower The height of the structure is 24 m, which is almost equivalent to an 8-storey building. It is an 18-metre concrete structure, topped by a 6-metre-high canopy. It has 40 fans on its base, 10 on each side. Each fan has the capacity to discharge 25 cubic metres per second of air, so the whole tower can discharge up to 1,000 cubic metres per second. There are 5,000 filters inside the tower in two layers, which have been imported from the United States. How Does It Function? The 'downdraft air cleaning system' is used by the experimental structure. The system is developed by the University of Minnesota," Anwar Ali Khan, senior environmental engineer, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, said while speaking to The Indian Express. Khan is also in charge of the much-anticipated project. Both American university and IIT-Bombay have collaborated with each other to replicate the technology. The commercial arm of Tata Projects Limited has implemented it. At the height of 24 m, the polluted air is sucked and filtered air is released at the bottom of the structure, which is almost 10 m high from the ground level. After the fans at the bottom of the structure operate, the air is sucked due to the negative pressure from the top. The macro layer then traps particles of 10 microns or larger, whereas the microlayer filters out those having size of about 0.3 microns. The air quality will be monitored by an automated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system installed in the tower. Besides temperature and humidity, it will also measure levels of PM2.5 and PM10, which will be displayed on a board on top of the tower. Project In Compliance With The Supreme Court Order In 2019, the apex court had directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Arvind Kejriwal led the government to come up with smog towers in the city to keep air pollution at bay. The court was hearing about air pollution in Delhi that resulted from stubble-burning in Punjab and adjoining states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The proposal was then submitted by IIT-Bombay to the CPCB. The Supreme Court then in January last year asked the concerned bodies to install two such towers by April as a pilot project in the national capital. Besides the one in Connaught Place, the second tower is being constructed at Anand Vihar and is in its final phase. Are The Smog Towers Effective? According to the experts, there isn't much evidence suggesting that the smog towers are very effective. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, believes that there is no precise data available yet that stresses that these structures have helped combat the rising air pollution levels of an entire city. "How do you filter air in a dynamic scenario, when it is not a confined area?" The Indian Express quoted her as saying. Other Countries To Use It The Netherlands and South Korea are currently using smog towers but on a small scale. However, the only operational smog tower across the globe is a 60-metre high tower in Xian, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province. The experts and national media have slammed the tower and have termed it as an eyewash and ineffective. The researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences are currently testing the structure and said that the average reduction in PM2.5-the fine particles in smog deemed most harmful to health — fell 15 percent during heavy pollution. That's a spoonful from a periphery of not more than 100 metres. In India, the downdraft method used in the tower is different from the one used in China, where they use an 'updraft' method in a 60-metre smog tower in Xian city. In the updraft method, air is sucked in from near the ground and is pushed in the upward direction by heating and convection. Filtered air is released at the top of the structure.

• Sustainable Mobility

Future of mobility: Shared, smart, safe and sustainable

To prepare for the future, India must start by investing in a robust infrastructure of EV charging docks and promoting alliances between civic bodies and private companies to reach the masses. Every day nowadays is a reminder to adopt sustainable and greener lifestyles. According to studies, India is the third most polluting country in the world, and twenty-two of the world’s 30 most polluted cities based on the Air Quality Index (AQI) are Indian. Diesel vehicles are responsible for 66% (1) of air pollution-related deaths in India. Another report said that 40% (2) of air pollution in India is attributed to vehicular emissions. The multiplying number of gasoline and diesel-powered automobiles is a double-edged sword that exploits our natural resources on one side and contributes awfully to global warming on the other. India, as a country of examples, must ‘grow responsibly’. We are facing the dichotomy of being tagged as the fastest growing economy and being a member of the Paris agreement with a commitment towards environment conservation. How can we do this? To start with, we could all switch our mobility choice to an environmentally safe one since air pollution is arguably the most chronic with an immediate genetic effect on human health and biodiversity as a whole. EV is the Key Automobiles are an integral part of our lifestyle but traditionally we have encouraged vehicles that exploit fossil fuel. Hence, they have a high carbon footprint. But, today and the future demand more sustainable ways of transportation. The future of mobility is Shared, Smart, Sustainable, Small and Safe. 1. Shared- Fewer vehicles needed per capita as a cheaper mode of mobility. 2. Smart- Convenient real-time availability with instant planning and execution. 3. Sustainable- Green solutions with real positive impact on the environment which is economically justifiable. 4. Small- Practical solutions to reduce traffic congestion in small towns to big cities. 5. Safe- Solo ridership with natural social distancing especially needed during the Pandemic. Electric Vehicles come here as a blessing as they are an eco-friendly mode of mobility with less carbon footprint that reduces dependency on fossil fuels. In the recent past, EVs have gained popularity in India. This is primarily fuelled by public-private partnerships that are making electric vehicles accessible to customers. There is also a shift in customer preferences due to the rising fuel prices making it relatively more affordable for the Indian economy in the long run. Traditionally, India has been a two-wheeler country. Even amongst car owners, two-wheelers are popular in traffic congestion. Thus, we need to scooterise the trajectory towards the electric mobility alternatives in India. Compared to cars, scooters are lightweight and hence EV scooters run efficiently on cost-effective batteries. An easy-to-use solution, two-wheeler EVs can be charged using existing plug points in the Indian houses and have less engine sound due to the small electrified engine. The Indian government has been promoting EVs and has reduced GST from 12% to 5% on EVs, and the future is bright especially with smart city planning and its transformational objective. One of the biggest challenges for EV adoption in India would be its affordability to the larger customer base. A strategic way to make EVs more affordable would be to promote “shared EV mobility alternatives”. This would not only help India meet its environmental goals but also make EVs affordable for the masses. To prepare for that future, India must start today by investing in a robust infrastructure of charging docks and promoting alliances between civic bodies and private companies to reach the masses. The companies need to create a unique battery-swapping network that is low cost and highly scalable. This framework should be accessible to its users and operate with a skillful team to keep the process running in place in the viable areas. Indian cities are still developing the infrastructure for parking shared vehicles. The service providers must work with cities in a collaborative manner that can give access to prime real estate to create sustainable models for EVs. You for Nature Today, mobility is transforming the way we get ready for a convalescing future. The shift towards EV will not be instant, but metamorphic. History is a living example that only socially cognizant and insightful people can bring about a radical change in society. Even the Wright brothers were laughed at for their idea of a flying automobile. (Sources) 1 – Study by International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Milken Institute School of Public Health from George Washington University, and the University of Colorado Boulder 2 – Mint interview with Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Executive Director (Research & Advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

• Industrial Pollution

India’s new directives on sustainable disposal of fly ash may do more harm than good

The toxic residue left over from burning coal could end up damaging the country’s farmlands, water bodies and fragile habitats, say environmentalists. The latest government attempt to ensure the safe and sustainable disposal of fly ash – a toxic residue left over from burning coal – could end up damaging India’s farmlands, water bodies and fragile habitats, say researchers and activists. Fly ash is known to cause air and water pollution. Coal and lignite-based thermal power plants should “ensure 100% utilisation of ash generated by it in an eco-friendly manner”, said an April 22 notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Over the last two decades, the Indian government has been issuing similar notifications on the disposal and utilisation of fly ash. Its recommendations have varied: use it to manufacture building material and in construction work and apply it as soil conditioner in farms and use it to reclaim low-lying areas and empty mines. However, over 50% of industries remain non-compliant, mostly dumping the ash in the open, in water bodies and in unlined and uncovered pits. There have been eight major incidents involving coal ash in India between August 2019 and May this year, as per a status report by Fly Ash Watch Group, a collective of activist individuals and organisations across India. The Singrauli region spread across Singrauli district in Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh accounted for half of these. In 2019-’20, 197 thermal plants in India generated 226 million tonnes of fly ash. And nearly 1.6 billion tonnes of it are scattered over 65,000 acres of land, as of 2019. Accidents happen mostly when fly ash overflows or breaks through the embankment of ash ponds where it has been dumped. An ash pond is designed with an embankment all around and an internal and external drainage system. It needs to be constantly monitored for safety and spillage. Environmentalists have been urging the government to delete “filling of low lying area” as an accepted use of fly ash. “There are no clear guidelines on what constitutes a ‘low-lying area’,” said Rahul Choudhary, Supreme Court advocate and founding member of the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment. Even riverine stretches and wetlands can be considered low-lying, he pointed out. Little action has been taken against erring units, as we detail later. We reached out to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for comments on fly ash mismanagement. This article will be updated as and when we receive a response. Coal-based power plants are among the most polluting industries in India, significantly responsible for its dire air pollution levels, studies have shown. Coal-based thermal power plants are water-intensive, using more water than permitted, IndiaSpend has reported in September 2019. Rules diluted Over 76 fly ash accidents have been reported in mainstream English media in the last decade, killing people and extensively damaging water sources, air and soil, said a joint 2020 study by the Healthy Energy Initiative and Community Environmental Monitoring, a clean energy advocacy. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have the highest number of coal-based thermal power plants and report the most fly ash accidents, according to the study. Fly ash spillage is hard to fix and polluters and authorities have shown no interest in cleaning up, observed experts. “Once water is contaminated there is no undoing [the contamination], but even for the visible spots of ash spillage there is no clean-up undertaken by plant authorities,” said Shripad Dharmadhikary, an analyst at the research organisation Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, who also co-authored the Fly Ash Watch report. “The eight major incidents [August 2019 - May 2021] do not take into account the ash spill that happens routinely.” The government has been attempting to tackle the problem since 1999. The first official notification on the subject came in 1999 and it outlined some methods for the constructive use of fly ash – to manufacture cement, concrete blocks and bricks and in the construction of roads and embankments within a 100-km radius of thermal power plants. However, subsequent notifications – in 2003, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020 and the latest, in 2021 –diluted the definition of and deadline for ash utilisation by polluters. They allowed the reclamation of low-lying areas and abandoned mines using ash, extended deadlines for polluters, raised the distance over which fly ash can be transported and did away with the ash content cap in coal. In 2019-’20, the power sector consumed 678 million tons of coal and generated 226 million tonnes of ash. Of this, only 187 million tonnes (82%) was put to use in various ways. The remaining waste piled up, damaging the environment. The Centre for Science and Environment analysed state wise-data on ash generation and utilisation between 2010 and 2019 and found Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh had accumulated the most ash during this period. And Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha have huge ash backlogs. In order to minimise this pollution, urgent measures are needed, said experts. On the draft notification, the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra commented that it “appears to prioritise full disposal of fly ash without adequate considerations of the safety of health and environment”. The think-tank Centre for Policy Research also noted the need to take into account “non-compliance induced breaches of ash dykes and ponds and present preventive and restitutive measures for the same”. Apart from legal issues, it pointed to “serious impacts such as contamination of farmlands, common use areas, water bodies and air, for years”. Periodic disasters “In the last two decades since the notification was first introduced, the problem of fly ash has escalated,” said Shweta Narayan, an environmental justice activist and campaigner for climate and health with Health Care Without Harm in India. “The subsequent notifications have allowed violations which have led to fly ash breach accidents and the regulatory authorities are clueless on how to handle it.” In June, a fly ash breach accident was reported in Chhattisgarh’s Korba thermal power plant, said Savita Rath, a local activist and lawyer. “Only three plants – Jindal’s Raigarh power plant, Korba West plant and DB power plant – have ponds to dispose of ash,” said Rath. “So many other plants in Chhattisgarh do not have any mechanism in place. And, even in these ponds, ash is piled up like small hills. Is there no limit to how much one can accumulate in the ponds?” Earlier, in April 2020, the wall of the Reliance Thermal Plant’s ash pond in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh collapsed claiming at least two lives, destroying agricultural land and contaminating groundwater. The Singrauli region houses 10 thermal power plants. It is a preferred industrial location because it offers easy access to coal and water from the nearby Rihand reservoir. In the last two years alone, four of the eight major ash pond breach incidents took place in the region. Note: *This is different from one-time breaches at other power plants. A continuous overflow of ash slurry from the plant’s ash pond directly into Rihand reservoir has been reported over many years. “Around six months before the collapse of the [ash pond] wall, local villagers and gram panchayat members had protested and warned that the wall of the pond could collapse anytime,” said Sandeep Sahu, a local activist, on the Reliance Plant accident. “This was [the result of] long-term negligence.” The district collector’s office had also warned plant officials about the precariousness of the ash dyke but no action was taken, said a Newsclick report. Truant units undeterred Since 2013, Supreme Court advocate and environmentalist Ashwani Kumar Dubey has filed several petitions in the National Green Tribunal on fly ash disposal in the Rihand reservoir. All the thermal plants in the region are located on the banks of the reservoir, he told IndiaSpend. “The reservoir is the only source of drinking water for the people of Singrauli and Sonbhadra districts and the entire water body has been contaminated, making it unfit for consumption,” Dubey said. In several cases, the NGT has reprimanded plant authorities but that does not appear to work as a deterrent. Advertisement The North Chennai Thermal Power Plant is a case in point. The litigation on ash slurry leaks has been going on for years. In 2017, the NGT had warned the plant of total closure if it failed to contain the discharge. In January 2020, the tribunal even imposed a penalty of Rs 8.34 crore. Despite this, the pollution continues. Fly ash transportation is also hazardous. India exports large quantities of fly ash to Bangladesh, where it is used to make cement and it is transported through the Sundarbans by barges. Five incidents of capsizing of such barges occurred in 2020, according to the reply to a Right-to-Information request filed by the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra. “Containing the spread of pollutants is more difficult in the water and when combined with heavy rains or cyclones, it is dispersed to a longer and wider stretch of the water bodies,” Avli Verma, an analyst at the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, told IndiaSpend. There are no studies in the public domain to assess the damage caused by fly ash to water bodies in various accidents. IndiaSpend reached out to the Inland Waterways Authority of India on whether any damage assessment is undertaken when fly ash barrages capsize, but did not get a response by the time of publishing this piece. Advertisement Deemed non-hazardous In 2000, the ministry reclassified fly ash as solid waste from “hazardous industrial waste”, and put it in the same category as household waste. As solid waste, fly ash is subject to different and far less stringent regulations on how it should be handled unlike hazardous waste, said Narayan of Health Care Without Harm. Since 2009, the Expert Appraisal Committee – which assesses the environmental impact of a project for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change – has been directing plant authorities to not dispose of ash in low-lying areas in their environment clearance conditions (see here, here and here). However, the 2019 office memorandum by the ministry deleted this condition with retrospective effect. In the case of Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd Plant in Ghatampur, Kanpur Nagar, the environment clearance directed the plant authorities to put in place mechanisms for the continuous monitoring of radioactivity and heavy metals in fly ash. “None of the orders have been complied [with]. The state agencies are also in denial mode,” said SC advocate Dubey. He approached the Supreme Court on non-compliance in the Rihand reservoir case, but the matter is pending because of the ongoing pandemic. Advertisement The National Green Tribunal has been imposing penalties on erring plants in several cases but it does not factor in the ongoing contamination and the damage this causes to the lives and livelihoods of those living in the vicinity and to its long-term ecological impact, Choudhary said. Increased coal production Over the years, with an increase in power generation, India has been seeing an increase in coal ash generation. As the amount of fly ash increased, the environment ministry brought in, as we said, several notifications and amendments to the notifications aiming to achieve 100% utilisation of fly ash within a specified deadline. “Utilisation targets are difficult to achieve,” said Dharmadhikary of the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra. Legacy ash – unused over years – and the freshly generated ash piles up in ash ponds or open fields. Without adequate legal action against violators and weak compliance, breaches will continue undeterred, said activists.

• DTE - Web

Holding the rain

As the emerging water crisis is staring us in our face, Odisha’s rainwater harvesting model offers a simple but efficient solution Urbanisation poses a threat to our natural environment: It leads to water scarcity, disasters, loss of biodiversity and more. Urbanisation, when carried out optimally and sustainably, can offer a solution for emerging urban problems. The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department, Government of Odisha has presented a great model. It involves 'catching the rain'. The rapid growth of urban areas has adversely affected the natural recharge of groundwater aquifers. With this, surface water runoff has increased, thereby limiting its infiltration into the ground and causing water scarcity. Rainwater harvesting can offer a great solution in such situations. Observing the irregularity in rainfall and increased flood frequency, many states have already adopted such steps to install a rainwater harvesting system in their cities to reduce surface water runoff. Odisha leads by example. Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment is its knowledge partner. The state has developed 12,000 rainwater harvesting structures (RWHS) to facilitate water conservation and groundwater recharge in 2,035 wards of 114 urban local bodies. This happened in less than three months' time, before the onset of the southwest monsoon. Rainwater harvesting comprises collecting run-off from a structure or other impervious surface to store it for use. The process is used to conserve rainwater that runs off from rooftops, parks, roads and open grounds by collecting, storing, conveying and purifying it. he state had selected sites to have these structures to address the state-wide campaign Catch the Rain: Where it Falls and When it Falls. This was completed under Mukhyamantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan (MUKTA), an urban wage employment scheme for migrant workers. Most Indian states in the last one decade have observed irregularity in rainfall patterns leading to a water crisis and a drought-like situation in some places while heavy rainfall led to floods in others. Odisha is no exception: It is a water surplus state owing to its annual rainfall which varies from 1200 millimetres to 1800 mm, but its spatial distribution is uneven and erratic. The state receives 76 per cent rainfall between mid-June and mid-September and the remaining throughout the year. Considering the uneven rainfall pattern, the only way to use the surplus rains received is by storing it. The state government wanted to develop a mechanism that would be cost-effective, need a simple technology to operate and would require the least maintenance. The rainwater harvesting system type they developed was pit and burrow that cost Rs 35,000 per unit, involved no complex technologies and required less maintenance. It was completed in 7-10 days. The Odisha government aims to conserve both rooftop runoff from schools, hospitals, community halls and other government and private-aided institutions as well as stormwater runoff from parks, playgrounds, open space, vacant lands and roads. The spacing and number of recharge pits will be based on the porosity and permeability of the soil below 1.8 metres, annual average rainfall, intensity and duration of rainfall in that particular region. For average conditions, one recharge pit of 1.2 metres diameter and 1.8 m depth with 15 m leading channel is adequate for 250 sq m of the catchment area. The recharge mechanism is also simple. Partial recharge of rainwater from the catchment happens through the loading channel. Surplus rainwater received from the loading channel and stormwater from the area surrounding the pit is recharged through filled media. The sand layer acts as conventional surface water filter media. To support it, broken granite chips are provided underneath the sand layer. The sand layer filters out and retains the suspended solids thereby providing a base for the grey / black blanket formed over the sand due to the filtering of clay, silt and colloidal particles. The filter media in the leading channel and recharge pits act like a porous membrane that allows the partially filtered rainwater to reach the soil media interface. The underneath soil layer acts as a natural filter, which facilitates the micro-filtration of rainwater before it reaches the groundwater table. Over a period, the top layer turns grey or black which reduces the recharge efficiency. So, the top layered sand can be replaced periodically with new sand layers. The removed layer is rich in organic nutrients that can be utilised for filling the plantation sites in the park and open space area. The Odisha government recommended mandatory construction of 5 RWHS/ward in a notified area council; 10 RWHS/ward in a municipality and 20 RWHS/ward in a municipal corporation of the 114 urban local bodies. Daspalla, one of the NAC in Odisha, has completed 80 RWH structures with 138 pits in 16 wards of ULBs. According to Sasmita Pradhan, programme coordinator of MUKTA (a scheme to decrease the unemployment rate in the state), in Daspalla, 40 self-help groups and 2,898 people have been employed for this initiative as one pit required three people. To strengthen transparency and accountability, the HUD, Odisha, has made it mandatory for the sites to be geo-tagged. It also directed district collectors to monitor the progress accordingly. Rainwater harvesting is a go-to solution for the emerging water crisis. The anthropogenic activities have played a major role in furthering the climate crisis leading to overconsumption of underground water and depletion of the groundwater table. Aquifers, which were used as a primary source of fresh water in several places, are not recharged efficiently, which leads to a decrease in the groundwater level. DTE

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi’s new smog tower: the technology, the impact, the evidence

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated on Monday the country's first 'smog tower', an experimental set up worth Rs 20 crore to purify air in a 1-km radius around the structure. How does it work, and what is its likely impact? Ahead of its infamous smog season, Delhi on Monday got a ‘smog tower’, a technological aid to help combat air pollution. How does a ‘smog tower’ like the one inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal behind Shivaji Stadium Metro station work? Components of smog tower The structure is 24 m high, about as much as an 8-storey building — an 18-metre concrete tower, topped by a 6-metre-high canopy. At its base are 40 fans, 10 on each side. Each fan can discharge 25 cubic metres per second of air, adding up to 1,000 cubic metres per second for the tower as a whole. Inside the tower in two layers are 5,000 filters. The filters and fans have been imported from the United States. Smog tower: How it works The tower uses a ‘downdraft air cleaning system’ developed by the University of Minnesota, said Anwar Ali Khan, senior environmental engineer, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, who was in charge of the project. IIT-Bombay has collaborated with the American university to replicate the technology, which has been implemented by the commercial arm of Tata Projects Limited. Polluted air is sucked in at a height of 24 m, and filtered air is released at the bottom of the tower, at a height of about 10 m from the ground. When the fans at the bottom of the tower operate, the negative pressure created sucks in air from the top. The ‘macro’ layer in the filter traps particles of 10 microns and larger, while the ‘micro’ layer filters smaller particles of around 0.3 microns. The downdraft method is different from the system used in China, where a 60-metre smog tower in Xian city uses an ‘updraft’ system — air is sucked in from near the ground, and is propelled upwards by heating and convection. Filtered air is released at the top of the tower. Computational fluid dynamics modelling by IIT-Bombay suggests the tower could have an impact on the air quality up to 1 km from the tower. The actual impact will be assessed by IIT-Bombay and IIT-Delhi in a two-year pilot study that will also determine how the tower functions under different weather conditions, and how levels of PM2.5 vary with the flow of air. An automated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system in the tower will monitor air quality. Levls of PM2.5 and PM10, besides temperature and humidity, will be measured constantly, and will be displayed on a board atop the tower. Monitors will soon be installed at various distances from the tower to determine its impact at these distances. The project aims to provide purified air in a “localised” area, officials said. Supreme Court order In 2019, the Supreme Court directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Delhi government to come up with a plan to install smog towers to combat air pollution. The court was hearing a matter related to air pollution in the national capital due to stubble-burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. IIT-Bombay then submitted a proposal for the towers to the CPCB. In January 2020, the Supreme Court directed that two towers should be installed by April as a pilot project. The smog tower at Connaught Place is the first of these towers. The second tower, being constructed at Anand Vihar in east Delhi with CPCB as the nodal agency, is nearing completion. Since 2009, an increase of 258% to 335% had been observed in the concentration of PM10 in Delhi, a 2016 report by the CPCB noted. But the most prominent pollutant in Delhi and neighbouring areas is PM2.5, the report said. No evidence so far This is the first experiment with a large-scale outdoor air-purification system in India. Small smog towers have been raised in Netherlands and South Korea; larger ones have been set up in China. Experts said there isn’t enough evidence that smog towers work. “We haven’t come across any clear data that has shown that smog towers have helped to improve the outdoor ambient air quality of a city, either in India or other parts of the world. How do you filter air in a dynamic scenario, when it is not a confined area?” Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, said. Dipankar Saha, former additional director, CPCB, and former head of the air quality monitoring division in Delhi, too said there were no proven efficiency calculations on such installations. “We would have to control emissions at the ground level, not create emissions and then try to clean it,” he said. Delhi has three smaller air purifiers (about 12 feet tall) installed by the Gautam Gambhir Foundation in Krishna Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, and Lajpat Nagar — essentially big versions of indoor air purifiers.

• Director General Office

Women in the Global South Must Be at the Forefront of Our Climate Emergency Response

As droughts, floods and other erratic weather events continue to be on the rise, there will be an increased burden on women holding responsibility for their families’ food water and energy needs. The U.N. climate panel recently released its most comprehensive assessment of climate change yet. The report underscores that every corner of the world is affected by the climate crisis, and we have reached a time when we will need to make drastic decisions and take actions today to save generations to come. Already, we have seen climate change fuel a rise in natural disasters, forced migration, loss of livelihood, rising food prices and regional conflicts over scarce resources such as water or fertile land. We’re also witnessing an accelerated loss of biodiversity, the contamination of soils, food and water, and conflicts driven by extractive industries. However, what many overlook is the disproportionately catastrophic loss already endured by the Global South, especially in regard to the health and safety of women. Countries that are the least responsible for causing climate change are the ones most exposed to and already suffering from its effects, particularly when it comes to food insecurity and nutrient deficiencies, reports show. For example, the second most food insecure country in the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has the second smallest carbon footprint. The Climate and Food Vulnerability Index found that the 10 most food-insecure countries in the world generate less than half a ton of CO2 per person. Collectively, they generate just 0.08% of total global CO2. Indigenous women, Black women, women from low-income communities, women with disabilities and women from the Global South bear a significantly heavier burden from the impacts of climate change because of the historic and continued impacts of inequality; and, because they are more reliant upon natural resources for their survival and/or live in areas that have poor infrastructure. Globally, women are responsible for half of the world’s food production. In most Global South countries, that figure goes up to 80 percent, with women also serving as the central stewards of seeds and agricultural biodiversity. As droughts, floods and other erratic weather events continue to be on the rise, there will be an increased burden on these women holding responsibility for their families’ food water and energy needs. And while women are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change, female leaders in climate activism receive only 3 percent of total climate funding today and represent less than a third of those in decision-making roles under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Women and girls must be included in the solution. They have long led climate action and environmental movements on the ground and driven stronger outcomes when involved in conservation efforts and natural resource management. In fact, studies show that their participation at all levels often results in improved responsiveness to citizens’ needs and cooperation across divided groups. Climate Strike in Toronto, 2019. (Piqsels / Creative Commons) The Generation Equality Forum, a global event hosted by U.N. Women in Paris, recently convened women, girls and activists from across the world to catalyze support for the future of social and environmental sustainability and justice, with gender equality at its core. The Forum’s Action Coalition on Feminist Action for Climate Justice pushed forth a set of actions to facilitate inclusive and tangible progress over the next five years. The coalition’s priority actions include increasing direct access to financing for gender-just climate solutions, in particular for organizations led by women and girls at the grassroots and rural level. Funding efforts led by Indigenous women, Black women, women from low-income communities, women with disabilities and women from the Global South will also be extremely important—a vision already set forth by the Black Feminist Fund, which recently became the first global fund addressing key issues facing Black women. The coalition also advocates for equal and meaningful participation in decision-making processes at all levels to develop climate responses that prioritize human rights. There is a direct relationship between gender equality, women’s empowerment and climate change. Women, including Sunita Narain, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim and Vanessa Nakate, have been at the forefront of climate action and environmental movements for years, and their involvement in conservation efforts and natural resource management has led to significant outcomes. A new wave of feminist movements calling for climate and environmental justice has emerged to carry on the work of generations of women activists. As the environmental crisis intensifies, it is imperative that we continue to amplify and empower these movements.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Wie Neu Delhi mit einem Turm gegen den Smog kämpft

Die indische Hauptstadt hat eine der schlimmsten Luftverschmutzungen der Welt. Nun soll ein 24 Meter hoher Turm den starken Smog in Neu Delhi bekämpfen. Experten kritisieren das Projekt allerdings als große Geldverschwendung. Der umgerechnet rund 2,3 Millionen Euro (200 Mio Rupien) teure Turm habe 40 große Lüfterräder sowie 5000 Filter und könne 1000 Kubikmeter Luft pro Sekunde reinigen, sagte Neu Delhis Regierungschef Arvind Kejriwal bei der Einweihung am Montag. Der Turm sei ein Experiment und falls es gute Resultate gebe, würden mehr davon eingesetzt. Etliche Expertinnen und Experten kritisieren das Projekt jedoch als große Geldverschwendung ohne wissenschaftliche Grundlage. Stattdessen müsse bei den Gründen der Luftverschmutzung angesetzt werden, sagte Wissenschaftlerin Anumita Roychowdhury vom Centre for Science and Environment. Die Regierung sollte gegen das viele Verbrennen von Müll vorgehen und Elektrofahrzeuge sowie den Einsatz sauberer Brennstoffe fördern. Die indische Hauptstadt hat eine der schlimmsten Luftverschmutzungen der Welt - besonders giftig ist der Smog im Herbst, wenn er immer wieder stark stinkt und Grenzwerte der Weltgesundheitsorganisation um ein 20-faches übersteigt. Zu den Abgasen der vielen Autos, der Industrie, dem Staub von Baustellen, Müllverbrennung und Feuerwerk bei Festen kommt hinzu, dass im Herbst viele Bauern aus der Umgebung ihre Ernte-Reste auf den Feldern verbrennen.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Neu Delhi kämpft mit einem Turm gegen den Smog

Neu Delhi hat eine der schlimmsten Luftverschmutzungen weltweit. Ein Turm soll künftig 1000 Kubikmeter Luft pro Sekunde in Indiens Hauptstadt reinigen. Experten kritisieren das Projekt. Neu Delhi - Indien will mit einem 24 Meter hohen Turm die starke Luftverschmutzung in der Hauptstadt Neu Delhi bekämpfen. Der umgerechnet rund 2,3 Millionen Euro (200 Mio Rupien) teure Turm habe 40 große Lüfterräder sowie 5000 Filter und könne 1000 Kubikmeter Luft pro Sekunde reinigen, sagte Neu Delhis Regierungschef Arvind Kejriwal bei der Einweihung. Der Turm sei ein Experiment und falls es gute Resultate gebe, würden mehr davon eingesetzt. Etliche Expertinnen und Experten kritisieren das Projekt jedoch als große Geldverschwendung ohne wissenschaftliche Grundlage. Stattdessen müsse bei den Gründen der Luftverschmutzung angesetzt werden, sagte Wissenschaftlerin Anumita Roychowdhury vom Centre for Science and Environment. Die Regierung sollte gegen das viele Verbrennen von Müll vorgehen und Elektrofahrzeuge sowie den Einsatz sauberer Brennstoffe fördern. Die indische Hauptstadt hat eine der schlimmsten Luftverschmutzungen der Welt - besonders giftig ist der Smog im Herbst, wenn er immer wieder stark stinkt und Grenzwerte der Weltgesundheitsorganisation um ein 20-faches übersteigt. Zu den Abgasen der vielen Autos, der Industrie, dem Staub von Baustellen, Müllverbrennung und Feuerwerk bei Festen kommt hinzu, dass im Herbst viele Bauern aus der Umgebung ihre Ernte-Reste auf den Feldern verbrennen. dpa

• Sustainable Mobility

Futuro de la movilidad: compartida, inteligente, segura y sostenible

Cada día hoy en día es un recordatorio para adoptar estilos de vida sostenibles y más ecológicos. Según los estudios, India es el tercer país más contaminante del mundo, y veintidós de las 30 ciudades más contaminadas del mundo según el Índice de Calidad del Aire (AQI) son indias. Los vehículos diésel son responsables del 66% (1) de las muertes relacionadas con la contaminación del aire en la India. Otro informe dijo que el 40% (2) de la contaminación del aire en la India se atribuye a las emisiones vehiculares. La multiplicación del número de automóviles que funcionan con gasolina y diesel es un arma de doble filo que explota nuestros recursos naturales por un lado y contribuye enormemente al calentamiento global por el otro. India, como país de ejemplo, debe ‘crecer de manera responsable’. Nos enfrentamos a la dicotomía de ser etiquetados como la economía de más rápido crecimiento y ser miembro del acuerdo de París con un compromiso con la conservación del medio ambiente. ¿Cómo podemos hacer esto? Para empezar, todos podríamos cambiar nuestra opción de movilidad por una ambientalmente segura, ya que la contaminación del aire es posiblemente la más crónica con un efecto genético inmediato en la salud humana y la biodiversidad en su conjunto. EV es la clave Los automóviles son una parte integral de nuestro estilo de vida, pero tradicionalmente hemos fomentado los vehículos que explotan los combustibles fósiles. Por lo tanto, tienen una alta huella de carbono. Pero hoy y el futuro demandan medios de transporte más sostenibles. El futuro de la movilidad es Compartido, Inteligente, Sostenible, Pequeño y Seguro. 1. Compartido: Se necesitan menos vehículos per cápita como un modo de movilidad más económico. 2. Inteligente: disponibilidad conveniente en tiempo real con planificación y ejecución instantáneas. 3. Sostenible- Soluciones verdes con impacto positivo real en el medio ambiente y económicamente justificable. 4. Pequeñas: soluciones prácticas para reducir la congestión del tráfico en pueblos pequeños y grandes ciudades. 5. Seguro: número de pasajeros en solitario con distanciamiento social natural especialmente necesario durante la pandemia. Los vehículos eléctricos vienen aquí como una bendición, ya que son un modo de movilidad ecológico con menos huella de carbono que reduce la dependencia de los combustibles fósiles. En el pasado reciente, los vehículos eléctricos han ganado popularidad en India. Esto es impulsado principalmente por asociaciones público-privadas que están haciendo que los vehículos eléctricos sean accesibles para los clientes. También hay un cambio en las preferencias de los clientes debido al aumento de los precios del combustible, lo que lo hace relativamente más asequible para la economía india a largo plazo. Tradicionalmente, la India ha sido un país de dos ruedas. Incluso entre los propietarios de automóviles, los vehículos de dos ruedas son populares en la congestión del tráfico. Por lo tanto, necesitamos impulsar la trayectoria hacia las alternativas de movilidad eléctrica en India. En comparación con los automóviles, los scooters son livianos y, por lo tanto, los scooters EV funcionan de manera eficiente con baterías rentables. Una solución fácil de usar, los vehículos eléctricos de dos ruedas se pueden cargar utilizando los puntos de enchufe existentes en las casas indias y tienen menos ruido de motor debido al pequeño motor electrificado. El gobierno de la India ha estado promoviendo los vehículos eléctricos y ha reducido el GST del 12% al 5% en los vehículos eléctricos, y el futuro es brillante, especialmente con la planificación de ciudades inteligentes y su objetivo de transformación. Uno de los mayores desafíos para la adopción de vehículos eléctricos en India sería su asequibilidad para la base de clientes más grande. Una forma estratégica de hacer que los vehículos eléctricos sean más asequibles sería promover “alternativas de movilidad de vehículos eléctricos compartidos”. Esto no solo ayudaría a India a cumplir sus objetivos ambientales, sino que también haría que los vehículos eléctricos fueran asequibles para las masas. Para prepararse para ese futuro, India debe comenzar hoy invirtiendo en una infraestructura sólida de muelles de carga y promoviendo alianzas entre organismos cívicos y empresas privadas para llegar a las masas. Las empresas necesitan crear una red única de intercambio de baterías que sea de bajo costo y altamente escalable. Este marco debe ser accesible para sus usuarios y operar con un equipo capacitado para mantener el proceso en ejecución en las áreas viables. Las ciudades indias aún están desarrollando la infraestructura para estacionar vehículos compartidos. Los proveedores de servicios deben trabajar con las ciudades de una manera colaborativa que pueda dar acceso a bienes raíces de primera para crear modelos sostenibles para vehículos eléctricos. Tu por la naturaleza Hoy, la movilidad está transformando la forma en que nos preparamos para un futuro convaleciente. El cambio hacia EV no será instantáneo, sino metamórfico. La historia es un ejemplo vivo de que solo las personas socialmente conscientes y perspicaces pueden provocar un cambio radical en la sociedad. Incluso se rieron de los hermanos Wright por su idea de un automóvil volador. (Fuentes) 1 – Estudio realizado por el Consejo Internacional de Transporte Limpio (ICCT), la Escuela de Salud Pública del Instituto Milken de la Universidad George Washington y la Universidad de Colorado Boulder 2 – Entrevista Mint con Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Directora Ejecutiva (Investigación y Defensa), Centro de Ciencia y Medio Ambiente (CSE) Autor: Amit Gupta, fundador y director ejecutivo de Yulu Bikes Descargo de responsabilidad: Los puntos de vista y opiniones expresados ​​en este artículo son únicamente los del autor original. Estos puntos de vista y opiniones no representan los de The Indian Express Group o sus empleados. Obtenga precios de acciones en vivo de BSE, NSE, mercado de EE. UU. Y el último NAV, cartera de fondos mutuos, consulte las últimas noticias de OPI, las OPI de mejor rendimiento, calcule sus impuestos con la calculadora de impuestos sobre la renta, conozca los principales ganadores del mercado, los principales perdedores y los mejores fondos de capital. Me gusta en Facebook y síguenos en Twitter.

• Sustainable Mobility

L’avenir de la mobilité : partagée, intelligente, sûre et durable

Chaque jour de nos jours est un rappel pour adopter des modes de vie durables et plus verts. Selon des études, l’Inde est le troisième pays le plus polluant au monde et 22 des 30 villes les plus polluées au monde selon l’indice de qualité de l’air (IQA) sont indiennes. Les véhicules diesel sont responsables de 66% (1) des décès liés à la pollution de l’air en Inde. Un autre rapport indique que 40% (2) de la pollution de l’air en Inde est attribuée aux émissions des véhicules. Le nombre croissant d’automobiles à essence et diesel est une arme à double tranchant qui exploite nos ressources naturelles d’un côté et contribue terriblement au réchauffement climatique de l’autre. L’Inde, en tant que pays d’exemples, doit « croître de manière responsable ». Nous sommes confrontés à la dichotomie d’être étiqueté comme l’économie à la croissance la plus rapide et d’être membre de l’accord de Paris avec un engagement envers la conservation de l’environnement. Comment peut-on le faire? Pour commencer, nous pourrions tous changer notre choix de mobilité pour un choix respectueux de l’environnement, car la pollution de l’air est sans doute la plus chronique avec un effet génétique immédiat sur la santé humaine et la biodiversité dans son ensemble. EV est la clé Les automobiles font partie intégrante de notre mode de vie, mais nous avons traditionnellement encouragé les véhicules qui exploitent les combustibles fossiles. Par conséquent, ils ont une empreinte carbone élevée. Mais aujourd’hui et demain exigent des moyens de transport plus durables. L’avenir de la mobilité est partagé, intelligent, durable, petit et sûr. 1. Partagé – Moins de véhicules nécessaires par habitant comme mode de mobilité moins cher. 2. Intelligent – Disponibilité en temps réel pratique avec planification et exécution instantanées. 3. Solutions durables- vertes avec un impact positif réel sur l’environnement qui est économiquement justifiable. 4. Petites – Solutions pratiques pour réduire les embouteillages des petites villes vers les grandes villes. 5. Sûr – Achalandage en solo avec une distance sociale naturelle particulièrement nécessaire pendant la pandémie. Les véhicules électriques sont une bénédiction car ils constituent un mode de mobilité respectueux de l’environnement avec une empreinte carbone réduite qui réduit la dépendance aux combustibles fossiles. Dans un passé récent, les véhicules électriques ont gagné en popularité en Inde. Ceci est principalement alimenté par des partenariats public-privé qui rendent les véhicules électriques accessibles aux clients. Il y a également un changement dans les préférences des clients en raison de la hausse des prix du carburant, ce qui le rend relativement plus abordable pour l’économie indienne à long terme. Traditionnellement, l’Inde est un pays à deux roues. Même parmi les propriétaires de voitures, les deux-roues sont populaires dans les embouteillages. Ainsi, nous devons scooteriser la trajectoire vers les alternatives de mobilité électrique en Inde. Par rapport aux voitures, les scooters sont légers et, par conséquent, les scooters électriques fonctionnent efficacement avec des batteries économiques. Une solution facile à utiliser, les véhicules électriques à deux roues peuvent être rechargés à l’aide de prises de courant existantes dans les maisons indiennes et ont moins de bruit de moteur en raison du petit moteur électrifié. Le gouvernement indien a fait la promotion des véhicules électriques et a réduit la TPS de 12 % à 5 % sur les véhicules électriques, et l’avenir est prometteur, en particulier avec la planification de la ville intelligente et son objectif de transformation. L’un des plus grands défis pour l’adoption des véhicules électriques en Inde serait son abordabilité pour une clientèle plus large. Un moyen stratégique de rendre les véhicules électriques plus abordables serait de promouvoir des « alternatives de mobilité partagée pour les véhicules électriques ». Cela aiderait non seulement l’Inde à atteindre ses objectifs environnementaux, mais rendrait également les véhicules électriques abordables pour le plus grand nombre. Pour se préparer à cet avenir, l’Inde doit commencer dès aujourd’hui en investissant dans une infrastructure robuste de quais de recharge et en promouvant des alliances entre les organismes civiques et les entreprises privées pour atteindre les masses. Les entreprises doivent créer un réseau d’échange de batteries unique à faible coût et hautement évolutif. Ce cadre doit être accessible à ses utilisateurs et fonctionner avec une équipe compétente pour maintenir le processus en place dans les zones viables. Les villes indiennes développent encore les infrastructures de stationnement des véhicules partagés. Les fournisseurs de services doivent travailler avec les villes d’une manière collaborative qui peut donner accès à des biens immobiliers de premier ordre pour créer des modèles durables pour les véhicules électriques. Vous pour la Nature Aujourd’hui, la mobilité transforme la façon dont nous nous préparons à un avenir en convalescence. Le passage à l’EV ne sera pas instantané, mais métamorphique. L’histoire est un exemple vivant que seules des personnes socialement conscientes et perspicaces peuvent apporter un changement radical dans la société. Même les frères Wright ont été moqués pour leur idée d’une automobile volante. (Sources) 1 – Étude réalisée par International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Milken Institute School of Public Health de l’Université George Washington et l’Université du Colorado Boulder 2 – Entretien de Mint avec Anumita Roy Chowdhury, directrice exécutive (Recherche et plaidoyer), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Auteur: Amit Gupta, fondateur et PDG, Yulu Bikes Clause de non-responsabilité: Les points de vue et opinions exprimés dans cet article sont uniquement ceux de l’auteur original. Ces points de vue et opinions ne représentent pas ceux de The Indian Express Group ou de ses employés. Obtenez les cours boursiers en direct de l’ESB, de la NSE, du marché américain et de la dernière valeur liquidative, du portefeuille de fonds communs de placement, consultez les dernières nouvelles sur les IPO, les meilleures introductions en bourse, calculez votre impôt à l’aide du calculateur d’impôt sur le revenu, connaissez les meilleurs gagnants, les meilleurs perdants et les meilleurs fonds d’actions du marché. Aimez-nous sur Facebook et suivez-nous sur Twitter.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Neu Delhi kämpft mit einem Turm gegen den Smog

Neu Delhi hat eine der schlimmsten Luftverschmutzungen weltweit. Ein Turm soll künftig 1000 Kubikmeter Luft pro Sekunde in Indiens Hauptstadt reinigen. Experten kritisieren das Projekt. Indien will mit einem 24 Meter hohen Turm die starke Luftverschmutzung in der Hauptstadt Neu Delhi bekämpfen. Der umgerechnet rund 2,3 Millionen Euro (200 Mio Rupien) teure Turm habe 40 große Lüfterräder sowie 5000 Filter und könne 1000 Kubikmeter Luft pro Sekunde reinigen, sagte Neu Delhis Regierungschef Arvind Kejriwal bei der Einweihung. Der Turm sei ein Experiment und falls es gute Resultate gebe, würden mehr davon eingesetzt. Etliche Expertinnen und Experten kritisieren das Projekt jedoch als große Geldverschwendung ohne wissenschaftliche Grundlage. Stattdessen müsse bei den Gründen der Luftverschmutzung angesetzt werden, sagte Wissenschaftlerin Anumita Roychowdhury vom Centre for Science and Environment. Die Regierung sollte gegen das viele Verbrennen von Müll vorgehen und Elektrofahrzeuge sowie den Einsatz sauberer Brennstoffe fördern. Die indische Hauptstadt hat eine der schlimmsten Luftverschmutzungen der Welt - besonders giftig ist der Smog im Herbst, wenn er immer wieder stark stinkt und Grenzwerte der Weltgesundheitsorganisation um ein 20-faches übersteigt. Zu den Abgasen der vielen Autos, der Industrie, dem Staub von Baustellen, Müllverbrennung und Feuerwerk bei Festen kommt hinzu, dass im Herbst viele Bauern aus der Umgebung ihre Ernte-Reste auf den Feldern verbrennen.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

क्या है दिल्लीवासियों को जहरीली हवा से निजात दिलाने के लिए लगाया गया स्मॉग टावर?

देश की राजधानी दिल्ली के लोगों को जहरीली हवा से बचाने के लिए दिल्ली सरकार ने तकनीकी समाधान का सहारा लिया है। सरकार ने इसके लिए शिवाजी स्टेडियम मेट्रो स्टेशन के पीछे एक स्मॉग टावर स्थापित किया है। मुख्यमंत्री अरविंद केजरीवाल ने सोमवार को इसका उद्घाटन भी कर दिया। कहा जा रहा है कि टावर दूषित हवा को साफ करने में मदद करेगा। ऐसे में यहां जानते हैं कि आखिर स्मॉग टावर क्या है और यह कैसे काम करता है। भारत में हवा को साफ करने के दिशा में यह पहला प्रयोग है। नीदरलैंड और दक्षिण कोरिया में छोटे और चीन में बड़े स्मॉग टावर काम कर रहे हैं। विशेषज्ञों का कहना है इस बात के पर्याप्त सबूत नहीं हैं कि स्मॉग टावर काम करते हैं। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट में रिसर्च एंड एडवोकेसी की कार्यकारी निदेशक अनुमिता रॉयचौधरी ने कहा कि इस संबंध में स्पष्ट डाटा नहीं है कि स्मॉग टावर वायु की गुणवत्ता में सुधार करते हैं।

• Down To Earth

Modi govt must implement parliamentary panel’s recommendations on education

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports has categorically said that learning loss is acquiring a critical dimension The world has been talking about a ‘lost generation’ for quite some time. International institutions like OECD and UNICEF have categorically asked governments across the globe not to delay opening of educational institutions and provided a roadmap how to bring students safely back to their classes. In India’s context, a parliamentary panel had given its reports and recommendation a fortnight ago on August 6, 2021 in this regard, which seems to have failed to stir the Modi government. Decisions are being taken to open educational institutions, but the majority of the recommendations are ignored, while there is no initiative of proper planning. The Union government is talking big, but is clearly sluggish in action. School education was deteriorating when COVID-19 struck the country. Dropouts had increased at secondary level which was 17 per cent for boys and 15.1 per cent for girls. It was the result of deteriorating economic conditions of the households in country. Additionally, universal and quality education was not available for the majority of students. We needed this trend to be reversed at the end of 2019-20, when the country was put under lockdown on March 24, 2020. All educational institutions were shut down. Some 24 crore children missed their schools and the mid-day meals, resulting in further loss of learning and loss of health. The Centre for Science and Environment has estimated that 37.5 crore children might suffer weight and growth loss. Education of 32 crore students was disrupted during the pandemic. Online classes were started across the country. The government claimed it to be a big step, and the creamy layer of the country supported it to such an extent that the people who are not connected with the ground reality fell into an illusion in believing government’s claim that 85 per cent of the students had access to online classes. However, the reality was otherwise. The Modi government’s claim was a lie which has been exposed by the parliamentary panel report. There was a great digital divide between the haves and have nots. About 70 per cent children had no access to online education, the parliamentary panel revealed. Only 30 per cent had access, but then, the quality of education was so poor that it had to opine that online education is not ‘real education’. 62 per cent children in the country’s government schools suffered the most. 38 per cent of children in private schools were comparatively better off because of their better family backgrounds both in terms of education and wealth. However, only a fraction of them are in elite private schools who could take the benefit of online educations. The majority of students even in private schools could not access online classes. A government sample survey in respect of Kendriya Vidyalayas show that only 5 and 0.5 per cent students used television and radio for online education. Only 11.58 per cent schools had internet facilities; only 33.8 per cent students, 29.6 per cent teachers, and 27.2 per cent parents found online education joyful. The panel revealed that only 23 per cent students had access to devices to connect to online classes. One and a half year of closure of schools has prevented entry of 2.4 crore children in our education system in class one. The impact of this in our society can’t be imagined in all its dimensions including their future and the future of this country, in the backdrop in which, according to an estimate, about 8-10 crore children in primary schools of the country could not even read or count. COVID-19 has changed the world of work. The emphasis is on digitalization and automation, and the future is only for higher skilled or educated workforce. What would the country do when these people with such a low level of education will be searching for jobs? They will be almost 10 per cent of the total workforce of the country. The dropouts from secondary would add to it, apart from a large number of dropout college students of lower mental capability. Most of them would come from the deprived classes. Students were simply promoted to higher classes, many of them without exams, and many had passed exams on much reduced size of the syllabi, and even on the basis of leniency adopted in their evaluation. Though education is a state subject, it does not justify the action of the Modi government to slash Union Budget for school education by Rs 5,000 crore, and for Anganwadis and related programmes by Rs 4,500 crore from the original allocations for the year 2020-21. Budget reduction last year failed both educations and nutritional needs of the children. There is no valid logic to reduce the budget for midday meals which is even 13 per cent below the level of 2013-14, just before Modi government came to power. In the last seven years, the population has grown, and poverty has increased three times now, and the Modi government is claiming that it was providing foodgrains to 80 crore people. In this scenario, the budget cut is inexplicable. Nevertheless, it continues to talk big. The Union government talks about ‘Nipun Bharat’ to address the learning deficit in primary schools. But it has effectively no value because schools were shut down. Education has become children’s fundamental right, but then what can Modi government achieve with 38 per cent budget cut in Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan meant for ‘education for all’? Moreover, the Modi government recently celebrated the first anniversary of the new National Education Policy, during which schools were not open for a single day. Despite this, our Prime Minister has launched ten new schemes on the first anniversary, two relating to school education. As per the new policy, Anganwadis were to be merged with primary schools for integrated childhood centres, but the government is yet to prepare a roadmap to implement it. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports has categorically said that learning loss is acquiring a critical dimension. It recommended plans to bridge the learning gap and plans for safe re-opening of schools which included vaccine programmes for all students, teacher, and allied staff, physical classes on alternate days and developing a blended mode of education. Remedial steps are urgently required, the panel has said. Schools closures have substantially weakened the foundational knowledge of students, especially in mathematics, sciences and languages at school level. The learning loss is likely to impair the cognitive capabilities of students, and has a debilitating effect on vulnerable sections of the society like poor and rural students, marginalized sections of society and young women. Their recommendation include getting out of school children back with incentives like study material, digital services, nutritional food, learning loss assessment of every student, intensive bridge courses, recorded online courses and opening online courses in all regional languages for each class, making available high-speed internet connectivity and at least one TV set, one desktop computer, large screens with projectors in all schools by government, leveraging private sector to provide digital devices to students belonging to economically weaker and marginalized sections, and a credible fair and transparent system for continuous assessment. Modi government must heed to the recommendations and implement them fast. A simple decision to reopen school is not sufficient without remedial measures.

• Down To Earth

Shining a spotlight on Africa in the climate change debate

When Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan activist, was cropped out of a photo of young climate leaders that included the likes of Greta Thunberg, it sparked a debate about the discrimination experienced by many minority activists. Vanessa later said “a photo crop-out is an easy way to describe it but it’s really a metaphorical crop out from the narrative of climate science in general” Africa is routinely excluded from global conversations about climate change and climate science. However, if you’re sitting on a board in Africa, expanding a business into the continent or part of your supply chain is in an African country, it’s important to understand the impact of, and risks associated with, climate change in what is for many businesses, a region of growing strategic importance. How will climate change impact Africa? Despite over 17% of the global population being on the African continent in 2020, its 54 countries were responsible for only 2.73% of global carbon emissions. There is, therefore, little urgency to cut the emissions of African countries, but there is a desperate need to improve resilience to the fallout of climate change. African countries are among the most vulnerable to weather changes caused by climate change according to a recent FT article. The latest IPCC report shows that Africa will warm faster than the rest of the world. When the earth warms by 2°C, northern and southern parts of Africa will warm by around 3.6°C. An increasing number of natural disasters is likely to have devastating impacts on the population across the continent. Issues will include but are not limited to: Extreme heat and cold waves Frequent extreme rainfall leading to flooding and the destruction of agriculture Changing monsoon seasons in the Sahel Rapid sea-level rise causing coastal flooding and erosion Cyclones and droughts Source: DownToEarth

• Water Programme

‘Intense spells of rain harming Delhi's ecology’

An analysis carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) last year showed that this trend of short, but intense rain spells is making usable water scarce in Delhi. Up until the evening of August 20, Delhi stood at a 60% monthly rainfall deficit. On August 22, the city’s rainfall recordings showed a surplus of 11%, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data. This leap was a result of intense rainfall the national capital received largely within a span of six hours on Saturday. Scientists and weather experts said that such short, intense spells may appear to be a positive indication, but they are not doing any good to the city’s ecology. IMD recordings showed that as on Sunday afternoon, the Safdarjung weather station, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a monthly rainfall surplus of 11% and Lodi Road station recorded a surplus of 5%. The Palam observatory still stands at a deficit of 19%. On Sunday, only the weather station at Ridge received “trace rainfall” – light rain that is not enough to be recorded. While the rain recorded till Friday was 63.7mm, it rose to 211.2mm by August 22, as against the normal 190.2mm by this time of the month. With no rain on Sunday, the jump of 138.8mm was the highest single-day rainfall to be recorded in August over the last 14 years and the ninth highest since 1961, IMD records showed. IMD records show that previously, Delhi received such a heavy 24-hour spell in this month on August 2, 2007, when the city got 166.6mm rainfall. The highest-ever single-day rainfall recorded during this month is on August 2, 1961 (184mm). IMD’s forecast says that light rain is likely to continue in the city for the next few days, but from August 25, Delhi could see another dry spell. Met officials also said that Delhi this year is likely to see a “near normal to surplus” monsoon season. Met officials said that the majority of Saturday’s rain (138.8mm) was concentrated between a six-hour window of 2.30am and 8.30am. “If you look at the actual number of rainy days in August this time, there have only been four. From August 9, north-west India entered into a break monsoon phase and even before that, the month had a slow start to rain. The interesting bit is that from Tuesday, there is another dry spell in the forecast. So, essentially, the surplus that Delhi has recorded this month is a result of a single day’s rainfall,” a senior IMD official said. Experts said that such short, intense spells, which Delhi has been observing over the last decade, are not conducive for the city’s ecology. An analysis carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) last year showed that this trend of short, but intense rain spells is making usable water scarce in Delhi. The analysis showed that between August 13 and August 19, 2020, the city’s rainfall produced enough wastewater to meet nearly 13% of the daily water demand. In this period, Delhi received nearly 118.4mm of rainfall —143% more than the average. Such a heavy spell can produce around 87,000 million litres of water, the analysis showed. Apart from usable water going to waste, episodes of urban flooding and flash floods are also increasing because of this trend. Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change) at the Skymet Weather Services, said: “We can explain the scenario with a small example; if we are thirsty we will benefit from drinking water at regular intervals. What happens if someone forcefully pours it down your throat? Your body’s natural reaction will be to spit out the excess. That is what is happening with nature too. Because these rains are excess, in short durations, they are not helping the ground water recharge. Water is just flooding into the city and going down the drain.”