Smart cities need clean air: How will India’s urban growth clear air pollution for liveable and healthy cities

Sunita Narain,

Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi

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Harish Salve: Senior Advocate

Supreme Court, Vasant Vihar to SC

Date: November 26-27. Maximum exposure level - 408.25µg/m3 between 22:00 and 22:59

p.m. The 24-hour average exposure to PM2.5 was 4 times higher than the safe standard

and 1.4 times higher than the ambient PM2.5 level at Mandir Marg.

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Harish Salve data of PM 2.5

Personal Data

DPCC Mandir Marg

Standard

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William Bissell: MD, Fab India, Hauz

Khas to Okhla

Date: November 19-20. Peak exposure was 705.68µg/m3 between 8.10-8.59 a.m.

during morning walk at Jahapanah Forest (GK II). His 24-hour average exposure to

PM2.5 was 5.5 times higher than the safe standard and almost same as measured in

ambient air at RK Puram.

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Bhure Lal: EPCA Chairperson, Lodi

Estate to Lodi Garden, November 12-13

Date: Dai 1: November 12-13. His peak hourly exposure level was 1196µg/m3 between

5.50-6.50 when he goes for his morning walk to Lodhi Garden. His 24-hour average

exposure to PM2.5 was almost 12 times higher than the safe standard and almost two

times higher than PM2.5 measured at Mandir Marg

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Day 2: Date: December 8--9. Peak hourly exposure level was 832µg/m3 between 7.00-7.59

a.m. His 24-hour average to PM2.5 was almost 7 times higher than the safe standard and

about four times higher than the PM2.5 measured at Mandir Marg station

Bhure Lal

December 8-9, 2014

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Deadly exposure: way above standards

considered safe

Source: CSE

Comparison of 24 hour average personal exposure with 24 hour

average ambient levels at the nearest DPCC monitoring station

Deadly for our health

Not dust. But toxin in air

2012 epidemiological study on children in

Delhi. Covered 11,628 school-going children

from 36 schools

Every third child has reduced lung function.

Sputum of Delhi’s children contains four

times more iron-laden macrophages than

those from cleaner environments, indicating

pulmonary hemorrhage

Smart is not what we are doing today

How do we build really ‘smart’ cities

Smart is as smart does

This is not smart – cities with foul air and

unacceptably high health burden

How?

Learn what has Delhi done. Needs to do

Delhi’s pollution story

Mid-1990s: air black with smoke

15 years behind the world in terms of

emission and vehicle technology

standards

We said lets leapfrog

Move to CNG; don’t just improve fuel but

change fuel itself to reduce emissions

LeapfrogCNG leapfrog jumped us beyond Europe. Big solution; not

incremental. What can we do now?

Pre-Euro I

Poor diesel

Euro I

Improved diesel

Euro II

Natural gas

Euro III

Hydrogen

Euro IV

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Delhi has fought hard to get breathing space

On vehicles

Introduced low sulphur fuels and petrol with 1 per cent benzene

Mandated pre-mix petrol to two- and three-wheelers

Moved from Euro I to Euro IV over the last decade

Implemented largest ever CNG based public transport programme

Capped the number of three-wheelers

Phased out 15 year old commercial vehicles

Strengthened vehicle inspection programme (PUC)

Efforts made to divert transit heavy traffic

Set up independent fuel testing laboratories to check fuel adulteration

On industry

Relocated polluting units

Tighter controls on power plants. No new power plants.

Air quality monitoring

Adopted new ambient air quality standards

Expanded air quality monitoring and reporting

Other sources

Emissions standards for generator sets

Ban on open burning of biomass

First generation reforms….. Soft options are now all exhausted

Delhi got cleaner air: it avoided pollution. We saw the stars

CPCB: 24% drop in PM10 levels in 2002 compared to 1996 levels

Resources for Future, US: CNG bus programme reduced RSPM, CO, SO2

Jawaharlal Nehru University study: Drop in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons levels in Delhi’s air

immediately after the introduction of the CNG programme

World Bank: Delhi has avoided more than 3500 premature deaths a year

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Source: CPCB 2014, National Ambient Air Quality Status & Trends – 2012, page 133

But vehicle numbers up; dirty diesel use up, toxic

emissions in air up

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Ozone: very bad for lungs

Equalizer pollutant: found where it is green and

clean

Source: Delhi Pollution Control Committee

Ozone levels: Delhi summer of 2014

In Indian cities air is toxic: bad for health

Source: CSE based on CPCB air quality data and Census population data

50% of cities monitored are critically polluted for PM10

This is growingPublic health burden

Why air pollution?

Vehicles biggest source of pollution

Cleaner vehicles introduced; but many

more added = Pollution

Cleaner vehicles but diesel vehicles

growing = Pollution

Don’t have money to check every vehicle

We stay behind the problem

Pollution grows; congestion grows

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Particulate pollution decline and rise again due to rapid increase in vehicle numbers

Vehicles rise and pollution increase

go hand in hand

Trajectory of pollution

Mid-1980s; SPM – cleaned fuel; invested

Mid-1990s; RSPM; PM10; PM2.5 –

Improved engines; mass of particles went

down; but so did size: again invested

Mid-2000; NOx – higher temperatures for

particulate control; again investing

Now black carbon; ozone, climate

change contribution

We cannot afford to first pollute, then clean

Not just India agenda; global agenda for climate change

In UK, cars became more efficient; emissions

increased as people bought more; drove more

2nd generation reform:

hard steps needed

1. Build public awareness about health

impacts of dirty air

2. Need drastic and urgent improvement in

quality of fuel/vehicle technology

3. Stop dieselization of vehicles

4. Push public transport/mobility

transition/right to walk for clean air

Agenda 1: health and air toxin link

Greater awareness about toxins, but not

enough to act

Need monitoring

Need public information

Need health studies

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India adopts Air Quality Index

Now need a strong monitoring network

Source: National Air Quality Index, CPCB, page 26

Proposed Breakpoints for AQI Scale 0-500; Concentration in μg/m3 unless mentioned otherwise)

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Health statements for AQI categories: cautious warnings, but

will be good enough to build understanding

Looking to see how to step up emergency measures

Source: National Air Quality Index, CPCB, page 27

Now need to act on this

1. Need monitoring stations – only Delhi

has network to check real time air quality.

Need affordable technology for monitoring

air and need to inform people of danger

2. Smog alert system – close schools, ban

diesel vehicles, stop commercial vehicles

when air is foul and unsafe

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Last (this) government’s auto-fuel is too little too late

Does not recognise health emergency we face

CSE is demanding advancement of standards:

a.Euro IV nationwide: 2015 instead of 2017-18

b.Euro V nation-wide: 2017 instead of 2020-21

c.Euro VI nation-wide: 2020 instead of 2024-25

Best time to do this as fuel price is low – tax dirty fuel to

clean and leapfrog to best standards for clean air

Agenda 2: fuel/technology improvement

27Source: India, Europe compiled from Diesel Net, USA data provided by Axel Friedrich, Germany

Diesel cars

Technology roadmap: India, US and Europe – not aggressive

enough

Diesel car PM norms in g/km

Note: Europe has additionally introduced particle number standards at Euro V levelFuture norms of US and Europe are tightening NOx norms for diesel more

Agenda 3:

Control dieselisation

Indian style socialism: rich are subsidised

in the name of poor

Diesel and petrol differential remains

because of tax

Diesel is classified class 1 carcinogen by

WHO (same class as tobacco)

We allow its use without restraints

World is acting; we are protecting

France to phase out diesel cars; Recent order from the

European Court of Justice strictures to UK and member

states non NOx standards violation puts diesel on spot

Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai etc do not allow

diesel cars; Brazil does not allow diesel cars; Sri Lanka

has discouraged diesel cars with tax measures

We need

To heavily tax diesel cars

To ban use during smog episodes

Agenda 4: Mobility transition

But technology-fuel quality not enough

We cannot afford model to first pollute and

then clean up

Only 15% of people in cities drive today.

Already huge pollution, congestion

Need transformation, not transition

No space for all

Today only 10-15% of India commutes by cars

Private cars take up 90% of road space

Flyovers built and filled

Delhi has 26% under road; 66 flyovers; pollution is up; road speeds are down

Where is the space for the rest 80-90% to drive

No choice but to plan differently today: Equity in road space use

Learn from Delhi: More roads and flyovers not the answer to congestion

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Source: On the basis of Economic Survey, Delhi Govt

We are only taking baby steps

Need massive augmentation of fleet –

metro, bus, taxi

Need last mile connectivity – right to walk,

cycle

Need car restraint measures – increased

parking charges after 2 years of battle

Need strict and innovative enforcement for

illegal parking; road use

Must recognise the threat and opportunity

Cars occupy 90 per cent of road space in cities

Cars have not replaced the bus, the bicycle or walking

Cars have only marginalised the bus

40-60% use bus

10-20% cycle

20-30% walk

Only 10-20% use car+2-wheeler

The opportunity

We walk and cycle because we

are poor

Source: Based on: MOUD 2008, Study on traffic and transportation policies and strategies in urban areas in India, Wilbur Smith Associates, Ministry of Urban Development, May

How can we walk, cycle, bus when and because and when we are rich?

Public transport transition needs a new plan

Need to think all – comprehensive solution

Need to think integrated – all options are linked and easy to use

Need to think of last mile connectivity

Need to think compact – sprawling cities and land-use adds to congestion

DON’T JUST FIT IN A FEW BUSES AND FEW CYCLE AND WALK PATHS. Think big

Each and every trip begins and ends as walk trip. No right to clean air without right to walk

Source: CSE

Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai: Still very high count of walk trips

Delhi, Kolkata have the highest count of cycle trips

But we will take the car as we get rich

Personal motorised travel to gain about 20% additional modal share in most city categories until 2031. Deadly for air. NOT SMART

Source: CSE based on MOUD/WSA data 2008

Walk and cycle will go down because

cities will become bigger. Cities with

shorter trip length have higher share of

walking and cycling

Source: Based on MOUD/WSA 2008

Compact cities have shorter trip length, more walking and cycle share and less CO2 emissions

Source: Based on analysis of data provided in reports: 1) ICLEI-South Asia 2009 2) WSA/MOUD 2008

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We build unsafe killer roads

Walkers and cyclists are the largest number of

victims ranging from 40-50% in big cities

Source: National Crimes Records Bureau 2012 http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-ADSI-2012/table-1.8.pdf

Roads are not meant for walkingPolicy is weak; law is weaker

Agenda for reform

1. The MV Act needs to encompass all road users, not just needs and interests of motor vehicles

2. The fines and penalties for irresponsible driving, traffic rule violation and illegal parking must be made much more stringent.

3. The Indian Road Congress guidelines for pedestrian facilities and street designs must be made mandatory as part of the MV Act. The Right To Walk must be made non-negotiable and all conflicts with other acts, like municipal laws or the Street Vendors Act, must be removed

Reinvent growth

without pollution

Reinvent mobility

without cars

Reinvent it at the scale never seen before.

Never done before

Turn the constraints for growth into

opportunity

Smart city has to be smart in

the way it plans for mobility

and clean air

Otherwise dumb and deadly

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November 2014

October 2012

NEW ISSUE: NASA images of smoke plume

from agricultural burning

October 2014

Paddy straw burning: fallout of mechanization

Strategies to stop by incentivizing soil carbon capture

One airshed

Rich and poor

Urban and rural

We need to have affordable and inclusive

growth for all

Otherwise will not succeed