Uttar Pradesh Climate Change Authority, Directorate of Environment recommends CSE proposal on CEMS certification system
Photo for representation: iStock In present-day India, the significance of Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS) — a real-time pollution monitoring system — is crucial. With growing concerns over environmental pollution and its adverse effects on public health and the ecosystem, the implementation of CEMS has emerged as a pivotal strategy for monitoring and controlling emissions effectively.
CEMS enables regulatory authorities and industries to make more informed decisions by providing real-time data on pollutant levels from industrial sources. This not only ensures compliance with environmental regulations, but also allows for the development of targeted mitigation strategies to reduce emissions and protect air quality.
India grapples with diverse environmental challenges and the adoption of CEMS represents a proactive approach towards sustainable development and environmental stewardship, underscoring its indispensable role in shaping a cleaner and healthier future for all.
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Uttar Pradesh Climate Change Authority (UPCCA) under Directorate of Environment (DOE), UP, recently came up with a report, Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS) in India: Performance Evaluation, Policy Gaps and Financial Implications for Effective Air Pollution Control.
Ashish Tiwari, secretary for Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and director for DOE, UP, said:
CEMS could be game changer for ensuring stack emissions compliances in view of air pollution and GHG emissions. There is a need to develop first the ecosystem that supports CEMS adoption which includes indigenous certification systems, establishment of local calibration labs, policy support to boost domestic manufacturing, green skill development needed for their operation and maintenance and above all its affordability. Incentive on capital costs and leveraging benefits from the green credit programme could also support affordability to small and micro industries. Care should be taken not to put the cart before the horse.
The UPCCA report aims to thoroughly analyse the implementation and performance of CEMS across India, with a specific focus on UP. The report also examined the challenges encountered during the CEMS implementation, including high costs, technical limitations, lack of calibration facilities, the absence of an indigenous certification system, data management issues and maintenance concerns.
Moreover, it assessed existing policy frameworks, pinpointing gaps that necessitate attention to ensure successful implementation and widespread adoption of CEMS throughout the country. This report will contribute to the development of informed policies, improved CEMS implementation strategies and overall enhancement of environmental management in India.
The objective of the UPCCA in releasing this report is aligned with the aim of Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which is to ensure the successful implementation of CEMS across India. CSE has long advocated for effective CEMS implementation in the country.
DOE, UP and CSE share common objectives, including the establishment of an indigenous CEMS certification system, ensuring data quality through the adoption of quality assurance systems and tamperproof data management system-utilisation of Internet of Things for direct transfer of CEMS data, thereby enhancing transparency in the entire data transfer process.
The overall objective is to ensure effective implementation of CEMS in India, enabling the utilisation of data for regulatory and compliance purposes. However, the data cannot be used for legal and compliance purposes. The reason it is not considered admissible evidence under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Once there is a certified system in place, the Air Act can be amended to allow use of CEMS data for legal and compliance purposes.
The report highlighted the imperative need to establish CEMS certification and quality control system in India. The system is being developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL). The certification system includes the development of essential components like national standards and protocols designed for the certification of CEMS.
It also requires the establishment of a national CEMS testing laboratory accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories to ensure the certification process’s credibility and competency.
The report suggested bringing CEMS under the purview of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 2016 to ensure standardisation, conformity assessment and quality assurance. Under this framework, BIS would be responsible for mandating device certification of CEMS and issuing certificates or marks of conformity to products that adhere to relevant BIS standards.
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While the CSIR-NPL is in the process of developing a CEMS certification system, the report from the UPCCA and DOE, UP proposed adopting the system suggested by CSE in their report titled CEMS Certification System in India - a CSE Proposal released in 2022.
Nivit Kumar Yadav, programme director of CSE’s industrial pollution team and co-author of the CSE proposal, commended the efforts by UPCCA and DOE, UP that address existing challenges, policy gaps and financial implications that impede the effective implementation of CEMS in India.
The Central Pollution Control Board and Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change should focus on the identified challenges like policy gap, CEMS certification system, upscaling of CEMS and tamperproof data management system for effective CEMS implementation in India.
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