Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Sustainable Development Goal 3: An Indian Perspective

Prasad, Urvashi; Singh, Shashvat

Climate change and air pollution are caused by a range of natural phenomena. The situation is further compounded by human beings who are leading increasingly resource-intensive lifestyles. Climate change is a major threat to public health. Our health systems are already under pressure, and they are being further crippled by a rise in the incidence of heat waves, floods, droughts, and other vagaries of nature. It is the poor and developing countries that are bearing the highest brunt of climate change. According to some estimates, 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world are in India. The health consequences of this are already proving to be lethal, with the State of Global Air Report, 2019 highlighting that over 1.2 million deaths took place in India in 2017 due to air pollution on account of conditions such as stroke, heart disease, and lung cancer. In fact, the Global Burden of Disease Study, 2017, shows that “India accounts for a higher proportion of global health loss owing to air pollution as compared to the country’s proportion of the worldwide population.” In the recent past, the severity of the situation and therefore the need for urgent measures have gained traction within the political and policy spheres in the country. In this chapter, we review the global best practices along with their applicability to the Indian context, as well as initiatives that have been taken in India with respect to mitigating climate change and air pollution. Based on this, we also make recommendations for tackling this growing public health emergency and protecting the well-being of the current and future generations. Of course, government alone cannot achieve this; hence, we also suggest steps that need to be taken by the private sector and citizens.