Lok Sabha Question No. 1978 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-19
Subject: Black Carbon
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Vinod Chavda

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1978 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.12.2022

## Black Carbon

## 1978.   SHRI VINOD L. CHAVDA:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the high climate warming potential of black carbon and its impact on the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  the  efforts  being  made  by  the  Government  to  check  black  carbon pollution; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) The  study of Himalayan  glaciers  is a complex  and  evolving  subject  studied  through investigations, data collection and analysis of various research studies by scientists in India and all  over the  world. The glaciers and their characteristics exhibit complex changes in specific locations  across  different  sub-regions  of  the  Himalayas.  There  are stable,  retreating,  or  even advancing  glaciers  in  the  Himalayas,  thereby  emphasizing  the  complex  geographical  and cyclical  nature  of  the  glacial  dynamics.  The  Indian  Space  Research  Organization  (ISRO)  is operating  a  network  of  aerosol  observatories  under  ISRO  Geosphere  Biosphere  Programme. One  of  the  parameters  being measured  from  this network  is the  black  carbon  mass concentration. The long-term measurements of black carbon over the Indian region from the aforesaid regional network of aerosol observatories clearly shows a decreasing trend (0.24 µg m -3 year -1 ) in the past decade.
- (b) and  (c)  The  Government  has  taken  several  measures  to  control  black  carbon  emissions which inter-alia include the following:
- (i) Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana promoting use of cleaner household cooking fuels.
- (ii) Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI norms for fuel and vehicles from 1 st April, 2020.
- (iii) Network of metro  rails  for  public  transport  has  been  enhanced  and  more  cities  are covered.
- (iv) Introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like  gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG etc.), ethanol blending.
- (v) A  new  initiative, 'Sustainable Alternative Towards  Affordable Transportation (SATAT), has been launched to set up 5000 Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make CBG available in the market for use.
- (vi) Under Central Sector Scheme on 'Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for insitu management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT  of  Delhi',  agricultural  machines  and  equipment  for  in-situ  crop  residue management  are  promoted  with  50%  subsidy  to  the  individual  farmers  and  80% subsidy for the establishment of Custom Hiring Centres.
- (vii) The  Central  Government  is  implementing  the  National  Clean  Air  Programme  as  a long-term,  time-bound,  national-level  strategy  to  tackle  the  air  pollution  problem across the country in a comprehensive manner with targets to achieve 40% reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2025-26.
- (viii) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has identified 131 cities based on ambient air  quality  levels  exceeding  national  ambient  air  quality  standards,  and  cities  with million plus population. City specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared and rolled out for implementation in these cities. These plans define time bound targets to control  city  specific  air  polluting  sources  (soil  &road  dust,  vehicles,  domestic  fuel, municipal  solid  waste  burning,  construction  material  and  industries,  etc.).Annual plans with micro detailing are also prepared for effective implementation of the city plans.
- (ix) Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) phase-2 scheme has been rolled out.
- (x) Shifting  of  brick  kilns  to  zig-zag  technology  for  reduction  of  pollution.  Industrial units shifting to piped natural gas.

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