The most polluted air in the world, a challenge for the first of India

One of the biggest challenges he faces Indian Prime Minister Narendra ModiAt the beginning of his second term, he ensures the purity of the air in a country with some of the most polluted cities in the world.

The nation is consume more coal to provide cheap electricity to its 1.3 billion inhabitants, resulting in large areas of contaminated air. The situation is costing lives and affecting India's economic productivity, which has led to a rethinking of politics. Political parties explained the air pollution and how they plan to attack it for the first time in their manifesto during the national elections that ended on May 23.

Seven million deaths a year by breathing in contaminated air

In the past, measures to clean up the environment have struggled to pbad the test of affordability. Indian coal-fired power plants, one of the major sources of pollution and the major low-cost energy providers, have been slow to adapt emission standards because of costs. The campaign to replace firewood with clean fuel for cooking in rural households must be affordable in order to be better adopted.

Here are the steps that the Modi administration should take:

Strengthen the distribution companies of electricity. The revitalization of energy retailers will be crucial for the transition to cleaner, though more expensive, electricity. Losses increased from April to December, reversing the downward trend. The steps taken to reactivate them during Modi's first term have led to some progress, but have not been fully achieved.

Air pollution reduces life expectancy of newborns by 20 months

Ensure the timely adoption of emission standards for thermal power plants. One of the reasons this process has progressed slowly is a possible reluctance of lenders to finance upgrades in an area already under the weight of a mountain of bad debts. It would be essential to revitalize energy retailers in the event of a loss, as they would help fuel the national sales tax system with fuels, such as natural gas, by helping them compete with more polluting options, such as coal and coke. of oil.

Increasing local gas production will make it more affordable and help increase its share of the global market. combination 15%, more than double the current level. Accelerate the addition of renewable energy capabilities while enabling the grid to cope with an increasing flow of intermittent energy. Increase the use of biombad as a source of energy to reduce dependence on oil imports and avoid burning crop residues, a major air pollutant in northern India.