The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is pursuing “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) with an agenda to achieve those goals by 2030. They define Sustainable Development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. Their website informs us that – “After intense negotiations, 17 SDGs, together with their 169 targets, were adopted in September 2015. More than half of the SDGs have an environmental focus or address sustainability concerns, while over 86 of the 169 targets directly concern the environment – including at least one in each of the 17 SDGs. This means that no single goal can progress significantly without particular attention to the implementation of the environmental dimension”.
UNEP selected Indian PM Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron for the 2018 “Champions of the Earth” award, the UN’s highest environmental honour. It was a proud moment for our country and yet news reports and analyses point to some contrary views about the state of our environment and our commitment towards its protection. Let us examine India’s track record on the environment front and how we are pursuing the SDGs and scoring in their associated targets.
A CRITICAL REPORT
Down to Earth, a fortnightly run by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), comes out with an annual report based on the state of our environment by carrying out extensive research and documentation. Some of the information that can be found in its 2019 report is quite critical of our record in protecting the environment: (1) Air pollution – is responsible for 12.5% of all deaths in India. The impact on children is disturbing as it causes deaths of more than 100,000 children below the age of five. (2) Water pollution – both surface and groundwater are under stress. 86 water bodies are critically polluted. A possible reason is the 136% increase in the number of grossly polluting industries between 2011 and 2018. Groundwater is being over-exploited, which makes 94.5% of all minor irrigation schemes in the country.
(3) Land and agriculture – input costs for major crops are rising while the average farmland size is shrinking. (4) Waste – 79 major protests against unsanitary landfills and dump yards in 22 states in the past three years. A 56% increase in the number of hazardous-waste generating industries between 2009 and 2016-17. (5) Energy – Gas-based plants are running at 24% of their capacity due to the acute shortage of domestic natural gas. Hydropower projects running 19% of their capacity and their share in total installed capacity under consistent decline since 1962. India’s progress on the renewable energy front in 2018-19 has also been bleak. We achieved 6.3% of our target for wind and 5.86% target for solar. (6) Climate – A 22% increase in India’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions between 2010 and 2014. The energy sector is responsible for 73% of the total GHG emissions.
SOME GLARING INCIDENTS
India was ranked a dismal 168 among 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) in its latest report. It was reported in the media (Business Standard, 19 Jul 2014) that the ban on setting up factories in 8 critically polluted industrial belts was removed. In another report (Scroll, 20 Jan 2018) air pollution received a fillip when “the Central Pollution Control Board, which reports to the environment ministry, wrote letters to more than 400 thermal power units in the country, allowing them to release pollutants in violation of the limits set by the government for up to five more years.” This policy corroborates the dismal news that 15 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India. In July 2017, the government tried to change the manner of electing the Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), an autonomous environment institution that raises a flag if it spots anti-environment projects. “The Aravalli park issue and the fight against the Metro Rail Project passing through the green Aarey colony show how the environmentalists in India have to remain alert against a state that appears insensitive to its green” responsibilities.
In a report published in The Wire (16 June 2020) titled – “India’s U-Turn on ‘Clean’ Energy Is a Bad Move”, the writers assert: “The government has dangled a potentially dangerous carrot to investors in India’s coal blocks. It has done away with the regulation requiring power plants to use “washed” coal, by terming it an unnecessary cost on coal users. The “washing” requirement was introduced in 1997 and promised the use of cleaner coal in power production.
“It was India’s only legitimate justification to extend the life of coal as a development fuel despite the climate crisis. Now, with this U-turn that allows private entities to dig out and burn low-grade coal to produce electricity, the Indian government stands exposed not only as an unreliable climate savior but one that sacrifices the rights and safety of all its citizens to protect the interests of private coal mining and power generation.”
NEED FOR ACTIVISM NOT JUST AWARENESS
The amount of awareness that has been generated regarding being environmentally conscious and striving to preserve the environment is quite satisfactory. The regulation and legislation for sustainable growth also seem to be in place although the implementation of those rules in letter and spirit is still lacking. However, environmental activism does not seem to have taken off in India in the manner, it has done in the West and other advanced countries. Therefore, we have an actual political party by the name of “The Green Party” that has a presence in many countries and in fact, they even managed to form a government in the European country of Latvia with Indulis Emsis of the Latvian Green Party becoming their Prime Minister in 2004. Their political influence of the ‘green movement’ is very strong and they enjoy tremendous public support.
Unfortunately, ‘green activism’ in India has not taken off as required and it is confined to formalities like drawing competitions and ‘ribbon-cutting’ functions and photo-ops. There is a need for social activists and civil society to broaden their agenda and start giving space to the preservation of the environment. Sixteen year-old, Swedish environment crusader – Greta Thunberg is an exceptional role model for those who want to be inspired to become “green activists”.
She said: “Sometimes we just simply have to find a way. The moment we decide to fulfil something, we can do anything. And I’m sure the moment we start behaving as if we were in an emergency, we can avoid climate and ecological catastrophe. Humans are very adaptable: we can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses.”