In India, every year around 26.45 per cent premature deaths (among people above 25) are due to air pollution from thermal power plants and industries. Currently, most of the coal-fired plants are violating air pollution standards. According to the latest report by Air-Weather-Climate (AWC) Research Group of Louisiana State University, compliance with the standards by the currently operating and under-construction plants can avoid 124,000 premature deaths annually. Read More
A new study by Greenpeace India has come out with 13-point recommendations for addressing air pollution crisis in the country. It could reduce pollution levels by almost 40 per cent and avoid 900,000 premature deaths every year. The study claims that implementation of these measures may also lead to 50-60 per cent reduction of wintertime PM2.5 levels across north India, including Delhi.
Besides calling on the government to implement the emission standards for coal-based thermal power plants as notified in December 2015, it urges the government to disclose data on air pollutant emissions from all major point sources in the country on public platforms. Read More
In what could be a significant development towards curbing air pollution, the latest edition of the International Energy Agency’s Global Electric Vehicles Outlook reveals that the number of electric and plug-in hybrid cars hitting the roads exceeded 3 million in 2017, which is a 54 per cent increase as compared to 2016. Nearly 580,000 electric cars were sold in China in 2017. The United States recorded second-highest sale of about 280,000 cars, up from 160,000 in 2016. Read more