Headquarters
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Darbari Seth Block, Core 6C,
India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi - 110 003, India
In a scenario where India is actively pursuing green energy, the objective is to realize the full potential of biogas as a vehicular fuel. Biogas has multiple benefits in the Indian context in terms of energy efficiency, raw material availability, affordable mobility and rural mobility penetration, waste management, as well as several social-economic benefits that come with its usage.
To tackle the problem of air pollution, GoI has taken several steps such as setting up of national ambient air quality standards and air quality monitoring programme, penetration of gaseous fuels in residential and transport sector, emission norms for highly polluting industries, advanced vehicular emissions, and fuel quality norms etc. Despite these initiatives, the pollutant levels in cities have not reduced and have increased in many cities with the growth patterns. Evidently, more intensive efforts are still required at both urban and national scale to combat the issue.
Air pollution is a major planetary health risk, with India estimated to have some of the worst levels globally. However, the impact of air pollution is not limited to health but extends to agriculture and the general well-being of humans and other living organisms. To address the deteriorating ambient air quality all over the country, the government of India has launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019. The main objective of the NCAP is to reduce the ambient PM2.5 concentrations by 20–30% as compared to 2017 in the non-attainment cities by 2024 (NCAP, 2019).
Under the banner of CAP India Project, the Director of Environment and TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute), in collaboration with the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, successfully organized a groundbreaking training program on the Mechanical Road Sweeper (MRS) based audit system. This initiative, held on 19th June 2023 to 22nd June 2023 at the prestigious Taj Hotel Lucknow, aimed to equip Nagar Nigam staff with the necessary skills to revolutionize road sweeping and combat air pollution in the city.
TERI carried out a study on decarbonization pathways for the power sector in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The primary aim of this study is to assess the future capacity and generation portfolio in the state of Madhya Pradesh in the short and medium term—2025 and 2030—to meet the anticipated demand profile. The study provides an assessment of key aspects such as (a) the degree of VRE generation which can be integrated with the state grid, (b) system costs, and (c) the impact on the operation of the coal fleet.
The study brings out the following impressions:
Organizations striving for sustainability and net-zero goals should conduct a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. This inventory includes Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) emissions, which the organization controls and purchases energy, respectively. Additionally, Scope 3 emissions covers indirect emissions throughout the value chain, usually accounting for more than 50% of a company’s emissions. A comprehensive GHG inventory helps identify emission sources and enables organizations to prioritize reduction strategies.
India is dealing with multiple environmental issues, with the most pressing of them all being air pollution. The issue of air pollution is not just limited to degrading the health of Indian citizens and the economy, but it also poses dangers to cultural heritages. It has been scientifically proven that continuous exposure to air pollutants both gaseous and particulate matter have damaged the historical monuments in India and across the world. To save these national treasures first step is to study and analyze the ambient concentrations of pollutants in the region and their species.
GREEN Olympiad is a leading school-based initiative of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The journey started in 1999 as India’s premier environment quiz for school students. It has since incorporated within itself several stages of initiatives at TERI in the field of sustainability transformation matching the aspirations of the academic community and established itself as an Environment Education brand.