CEEW analysis: U.P. top in fine particulate matter emission

Context:

Uttar Pradesh is the largest emitter of PM2.5, the class of particulate matter considered most harmful to health, according to an analysis by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water ( CEEW).

Relevance:

GS-III: Environment and Ecology (Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Conservation of Environment and Ecology)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
2. Highlights of the CEEW report

About the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)

• The Council on Energy, Environment and Water, commonly known as CEEW, is a Delhi-based not-for-profit policy research institution.
• The think-tank advises the Indian government. The organisation is also involved in organising conferences about environmental topics.
• Some of CEEW’s research areas include:
  • resource efficiency and security;
  • water resources;
  • renewable energy;
  • sustainability finance;
  • energy-trade-climate linkages;
  • integrated energy, environment and water plans;
  • climate geoengineering governance.

Highlights of the CEEW report

• The five data sources used are:
  1. Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), maintained by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre;
  2. Evaluating the Climate and Air Quality Impacts of Shortlived Pollutants (ECLIPSE), maintained by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA);
  3. Regional Emission Inventory in Asia (REAS), maintained by the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan (NIES);
  4. Speciated Multipolluter Generator (SMoG),maintained by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay); and
  5. Spatially resolved pollution emission inventory for India, maintained by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• The CEEW analysis found “significant variation” in the estimates by various sources going up to as much as 37% for particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), Nitrogen oxide (NOx), Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Carbon Monoxide (CO). These differences had to do with the way each agency calculated emissions and the data sources they relied on.
• Because of the extent of variation, the Council said India ought to “develop and maintain a comprehensive inventory of baseline emissions” to evaluate if its policy and technological interventions were succeeding in reducing air pollution.

How did the States Perform?

• Uttar Pradesh is the largest emitter of particulate matter and this was largely due to a significant share of PM2.5 emissions from solid-fuel use in households and, by virtue of being India’s most populous State, had a higher proportion of households relying on this form of fuel.
• Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the Northeastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram, were among the lowest emitters of PM2.5.
• Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan too feature in the list of top polluters but are differently ranked by the five sources. Only Uttar Pradesh is at the top of everyone’s list.

Click Here to read about India’s National Air Quality Index (AQI) and National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

-Source: The Hindu