Since it was launched in 2019, funds for the National Clean Air Programme were overwhelmingly directed to dust management, including paving roads, covering potholes, and deploying mechanical sweepers and water sprinklers. Less than one percent was spent on controlling toxic emissions from industry, and around 40% of funds out of ₹10,566.47 crores are unused, found a new study by CSE.
The study revealed the number of cities reporting hazardous levels of air pollution is increasing, pointing to the need to focus on combustion sources from industrial activity, waste burning, and transportation. The research said determining progress under the programme is conflicted by multiple metrics and ranking systems that are not aligned.
Study: Ambitious targets can cut transport sector’s CO2 emissions by 71% by 2050
India’s transport sector pollution can reduce by 71% by 2050 if high-ambition strategies are adopted mainly on electrification, improving fuel economy standards, and switching to cleaner modes of transport and mobility, said a new study by World Resources Institute (WRI) India.
Covering the research, the Indian Express reported that India’s transport sector accounted for 14% of the total energy-related CO2 emissions in 2020, and there is a need for an emission reduction roadmap and targets for this sector.
The WRI study noted that following a high emission reduction target in the transport sector would also be pivotal in achieving India’s net-zero target by 2070. The Express explained that the study’s findings are based on the energy policy simulator, which allows users to develop dynamic models for different decarbonisation targets and their outcomes. In addition to the simulation, inputs were also collected from expert stakeholder consultations, the report pointed out.
Fill up pollution control board vacancies in states by April 2025: Green court
Fill up the vacancies in state pollution control boards (SPCBs) and pollution control committees (PCC) by April 2025, the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT), India’s green court, directed all the states and Union Territories. The NGT exempted the states falling under the National Capital Region from the deadline. The Indian Express reported that states falling in the National Capital Region have been left out of the NGT order as the Supreme Court is also hearing a case on the issue and had passed directions in the matter a fortnight ago.
The Tribunal also directed the SPCB’s and PCCs to provide adequate infrastructure to labs to make them fully functional. The NGT passed the order in a suo motu case on the functioning of state pollution panels across the country, their resource issues and large number of vacancies, the newspaper reported.
6 tonnes footwear waste per day in drains: Agra’s massive pollution crises
The city of Agra, whose local industry meets around 65% of India’s footwear demand, generates around 45 tonnes of footwear waste each day, a recent study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) revealed. The research found that of this waste, more than 13 tonnes come from informal home-based businesses, while the formal manufacturing sector produces over 31 tonnes.
The report said the Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) collected about 57% of the footwear waste generated from informal entities, the rest — nearly 6 tonnes per day — still ends up discarded in drains, open spaces or burnt, creating a significant environmental hazard.
Waste disposal firm owner on trial in Sweden’s largest environmental crime case
Swedish businesswoman Bella Nilsson, once called herself the “queen of trash”, has gone on trial in Sweden accused of illegally dumping toxic waste in the country’s biggest ever environmental crime case, the Guardian reported.
The trial centred on the recycling company Think Pink, its former chief executive Nilsson and her ex-husband Thomas Nilsson.
The company is accused of dumping and burying waste in 21 locations in Sweden. From 2018-20, the trademark pink construction bags of Think Pink, offering cheap recycling and waste disposal, were a common sight. In 2020, the owners were arrested after the company was accused of dumping at least 200,000 tonnes of waste around Sweden.
Police said they found harmful levels of arsenic, dioxins, zinc, lead, copper and petroleum products. Several of the rubbish dumps caught fire, with one fire lasting for months.
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