Blogs

Environmental Governance and Policy

Rising temperatures and air pollution are not separate problems – together, they form a dangerous feedback loop driving India’s next public health crisis. This blog unpacks the science behind their interplay, the policy gaps that keep responses fragmented, and what a more holistic approach could look like.

Books and book chapters

Environmental Governance and Policy

In the new book, ‘Healthcare for All: Community Action and Public Systems for an Inclusive India’, Bhargav Krishna and Nazneen contributed a chapter that catalogues evidence on the health impacts of air pollution across different demographics, and what an effective policy response from the health sector should look like. They suggest making health the basis for crafting mitigation action — identifying sources most toxic to human health and that contribute most to exposure, and prioritising these for action. The book is part of a six-volume set on Innovations, Practice and the Future of Public Policy in India.

Journal articles

Environmental Governance and Policy

Limited studies have evaluated the interaction between ambient air pollution and heat on mortality, especially in regions such as India, where extreme levels of both exposures occur frequently. The paper aims to investigate the potential synergistic effects between ambient air pollution and heat on daily mortality in India. It calls for efforts to tangibly reduce common sources of air pollution and climate change to immediately lower their combined effects on daily mortality and mitigate their long-term health consequences.

Blogs

Environmental Governance and Policy

For nearly three decades, Delhi has been trying to combat road dust and vehicular emissions without sustained success. This blog looks at some of the historical and emergent challenges behind this and explores how the city can be redesigned to serve its people and not its vehicles.

Blogs

Environmental Governance and Policy

Airborne microplastics are increasingly linked to serious health risks yet they remain unmonitored and unregulated in India. How can we better study and address these pollutants?

Journal articles

Environmental Governance and Policy

Recent reports on capacity constraints faced by the state pollution control boards have revealed serious systemic issues—problematic board structure and composition, lack of competence in the boards’ leadership and instability in its tenure, persistently high vacancies, and skewed financial situation. Recent amendments to the three central environmental laws introduce monetary penalties, reduce scope for criminal prosecution, and make key changes to the regulatory framework. It remains to be seen if these amendments, aimed at facilitating ease of doing business, will succeed in reducing pollution as several systemic issues remain unaddressed. The paper is part of the special issue ‘Review of Environment and Development’, edited by Sharachchandra Lele and Geetanjoy Sahu.

Opinions

Environmental Governance and Policy

Four key issues to consider for effectively implementing an airshed-level approach to air quality management: development of robust knowledge systems; appropriate institutional structures; clear powers and functions of the airshed authority; and accountability mechanisms.

Opinions

Environmental Governance and Policy

Explainer on PM 2.5, how the particles are formed, their health impacts, and methods for controlling PM 2.5 emissions.

Books and book chapters

Environmental Governance and Policy

This chapter in ‘The Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Natural Resources Law in India’ unpacks the key components of air quality regulation in India. It provides an overview of the regulatory and institutional framework that governs some of the major sources of air pollution in the country, focusing primarily on national laws and policies.