India should learn from the action taken by various developing countries to mitigate the effects of vehicular pollution. Most importantly, it must work on the problems plaguing the public transport sector
Recent hectic activity by the judiciary to stem spiralling pollution levels, especially during the festive season of Diwali, underlined the rising concerns in India on polluted air and the fact that the country is slipping into an unfathomable vortex of air pollution. Anxieties and apprehensions are not unfounded as a recent Global Mobility report by the World Bank revealed that nearly 100 per cent of the country’s population is irrevocably exposed to the ill-effects of PM 2.5 air pollutants, which are in excess of the value as specified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) are tiny particles with diameters of 2.5 micrometers or less, which can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood circulation system. Exposure to these particles triggers asthma, lung irritation and coughing while in the long-term, it can cause lung cancer.
Given the scale of pollution, it is critical to understand that continuous sources of air pollution that are present throughout the year are much more lethal than probably once a year appearing festivals. The Global Mobility report not only helps put India’s air pollution levels in context with the world, but the report also happens to be the first ever attempt to examine the performance of the transport sector, globally. This, it does by collating air pollution data from 103 countries, and in the process, establishes that nearly all of the Indian population is exposed to PM 2.5 in excess of the WHO guideline. The report also found that 98 per cent of the cities in developing countries do not meet air quality guidelines, as against 56 per cent such cities in high-income countries.
Besides other engaging findings, the report presents the startling fact that only 10 per cent of the people around the world live in cities that comply with WHO air quality guidelines. Some of the most populous and rapidly expanding cities in the world suffer the most, as population growth leads to increases in congestion and fuel consumption, especially in the transport sector.
Making the existing conditions worse is the disturbing forecast, which suggests that global passenger traffic will exceed 80 trillion passengers by 2050, which is a 50 per cent increase from current level this. This is expected to bring 1.2 billion new cars on the roads globally by 2050. This insatiable obsession with fossil fuel-powered vehicles is literally taking a toll on human lives and the environment with 92 per cent of the global population breathing polluted air.
Given the disquieting revelations and the obvious consequences, environmentally conscious developed nations across the globe are scrambling to take evasive action to escape the destruction that is sure to follow in the wake of this extensive fossil fuel usage. The UK has announced that it will put in place procedures soon that will facilitate complete halt in production of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.
Rising pollution levels prompted France to recently announce that it will ban all petrol and diesel-fuelled cars by 2030, which is a decade ahead of France’s 2040 target. Singapore took the most pro-active step by deciding to freeze the number of vehicles on its roads from February next year.
As advanced countries across the world secure their future, and in the process the health of their citizens, India is still in the process of finding its feet on vehicular pollution issue. In September this year, Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari urged the auto industry to focus on electric vehicle technology. However, with the state of public transport in shambles and looming restrictions on fossil fuel powered vehicles coupled with the electric vehicle technology in its infancy, India might just be looking at a transport sector chaos of colossal proportions in near future. Making things worse is the new Goods and Services Tax, which is not exactly making electric cars any cheaper as is evident by Toyota pulling the plug on the production of its hybrid variant of Camry model recently.
When Singapore announced the capping of registration of new vehicles from next year, it also announced a stimulus package for the public transport sector. India needs to take a leaf out of this and understand the setbacks that have been plaguing the public transport sector. Persistent problems such as last mile connectivity, inadequacy of transport infrastructure to match the population and lack of ergonomic comfort levels are translating to car owners not shifting to public transport.
A world-class public transport planned and funded properly can serve the twin purpose of reducing pollution load on the environment but also help reduce the detrimental impact on the health of the population. India must aim for this.
(The writer is an environmental journalist)