Two-wheelers, which are prominent polluters, need to go electric to cut down on emissions substantially
Air pollution is harming the health of around 1.3 billion people in the vulnerable areas of India where an average particulate matter concentration was 73ug/m3, far-exceeding the WHO’s standard prescribed limit of 5µg/m³, catalysing the levels of carbonization. India is witnessing rapid rise of two-wheelers, representing about 76 per cent of the total, which is over 210 million. Nearly 60,000 two-wheelers per day are being registered in India, consuming 61 per cent of total sale of petrol.
The two-wheelers account for almost 20 per cent of the total carbon dioxide emissions and 30 per cent of the particulate emissions in urban areas. The worst sufferers are the vulnerable sections of society such as growing children, expectant-mothers, elderly people and patients having lung problems.
The latest research studies of Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago observed that “at the current pollution levels about 510 million people who live in northern India, representing nearly 40 per cent of India’s population, are on-track to lose 7.6 years of their lives on an average”.
However, by all out efforts like two wheelers e-mobility and gradual phasing out of ‘Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) based tail pipe emitters’ for mitigating the pollution levels to the WHO’s prescribed levels would mean that an estimated 240 million people in the north Indian state - Uttar Pradesh - would gain about 10 years in life-expectancy.
Two wheelers pollute more, having cascading impact in urban areas to an overall particulate matter concentration, observed to be the highest in the world.
On an average, each two-wheeler enriches greenhouse gases by adding around 300 gms/km of carbon dioxide, besides (as per Bharat Stage-IV standard prescribed limits under standardized conditions) remarkable quantities of pollutants like (1.50 gm/km) carbon monoxide (known as silent killer) and (1.50 gm/km) hydrocarbons plus oxide of nitrogen, etc.
These standard limits normally exceeded because of factors like driving in frequent traffic jams, road conditions, fuel quality, local environmental conditions, etc.
Assuming broadly, around 75 million two-wheelers, having an average of about 250 km/month pacing on the road, will collectively translate around 75m tonnes/year of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, entailing emission of dreaded particulate matter.
The world’s fourth largest energy hungry India (yet behind China, US and the European Union), will according to IEA’s forecast will become the third largest consumer, overlapping European Union by 2030.Though indeed it is a Herculean task to achieve the set goal of IPCC by 2030, it is certainly not impossible.
Realizing impending threat to economies, India’s vehicular transportation scenario is set to have a ‘sea change’ as the Government’s think tank – National Institute for Transforming India – NITI Aayog is chalking out a slew of progressive set targets to mitigate and eliminate pollution by pushing the ambitious plans of electrifying two-wheelers and gradually phasing out the sale of ‘ICE-based tail pipe emitters’.
The government’s well set delineations with full support of corporates will undergo a sea change by 2030 with e-mobility as preferred mode of transport by having an ambitious plan of electrifying around 80 per cent, say close to 54.4 million two-wheelers with eco-friendly alluring all segments of e-two wheelers and setting up gigantic chain of about 6K-charging stations in the nook and corner, will certainly enable to get rid of routinely lining-up at petrol pumps.
Currently, to fill the gasoline tank of a bike of 11 litre, it costs about Rs 1100. So, this means that a e-two wheeler owner can get a full charge for less than that of the cost of one-litre of gasoline, with no tail-pipe emission, no tormenting exhaust noise, i.e., noise pollution, comparatively at much less maintenance cost to govern mere 20-25 moving parts in the vehicle’s assembly in comparison to about 2000 parts in the ICV gasoline based two-wheelers..
In the race of new technologies, India is not legging behind and gradually unveiling its plans on the befitting occasions for widespread application of fuel-cell technology as ‘new medium of energy’, replacing fossil fuels in public and private transport systems, railways, power generation, data processing stations, etc.
It is high time not to miss an opportunity to preserve the environment and warrants more initiatives with individual approach too. An earlier census had reported that mere 30 per cent of the trips to work are made on foot and 17 per cent by bicycle. Besides the government initiatives, here the powerful media must shoulder its responsibility to play its more constructive role for mitigating vehicular pollution in cities and make aware the public about the grim picture of vehicular pollution in the years to come. Spreading the mission of greenery all around and prefer trips to work on foot in urban areas on the lines of smartly populated cities like Surat and Bangalore, will bear fruits for morrow-generations.
(The author is a policy analyst.)