Breaking out of the Box: India and Climate Action on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

Abstract

In early October, 2016, India ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change, signaling its commitment to the “global cause of environmental protection and climate justice.” Future climate action is embodied in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), or national pledges to reduce emissions and undertake climate adaptation actions, given each country’s unique circumstances. India’s INDC (1) proposes an ambitious eight-point action plan aimed at addressing greenhouse gas emissions, including clean energy production, industrial energy efficiency, waste to energy conversion and sustainable transport. Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) can impact climate for about 10–20 years, following emission, through radiative forcing exerted during their typical lifetimes of days to a week. SLCPs include warming agents like black carbon (BC) and tropospheric ozone (O3), formed from reactions of carbon monoxide (CO), nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), and cooling agents like sulfur dioxide (SO2) and organic carbon (OC). Strong arguments have been made for including the mitigation of SLCPs under climate agreements. However, these pollutants have not yet been included in the basket of climate change agents along with “Kyoto” gases under the climate convention, nor have they substantively entered the climate policy dialogue in India. India’s INDC does not specifically address SLCPs; however, it refers to actions for abatement of air pollution and municipal solid waste management. Here, we ask two questions. Is there evidence which compels the inclusion of SLCPs in India’s climate change action plan? If so, what new road might India and the global community take toward action on SLCPs?