Global warming and externalities: India

Topic: India

The issue global warming has been a pressing issue for humans for the past 5 to 10 years now.  The greenhouse effect, caused by change in wavelength of solar radiations, helps the Earth maintain an average temperature that can sustain life. However, human usage of fossil fuels has added to carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and changed the previously experienced balance. This usage of fossil fuels is mainly because the human pursuit of industrialisation and our need for large amounts of energy to sustain our current lifestyle.

            Fossil fuels, like coal and petroleum, are used in two ways: on a large scale and on a small scale. The fossil fuel used on a large scale is mainly coal. It is used in thermal power plants, to produce electricity, and in smelters to smelt metals like iron. However, production of these results in negative externalities (third party effects) like pollution. Dumping of mass amount of gaseous wastes into the atmosphere pollutes it with sometimes toxic fumes. Not only can these fumes and gases cause severe respiratory disease, but also cause irritation in the eyes and contribute to smog, which can be a safety hazard for road vehicles and airplanes. Small-scale use of fossil fuels again leads to release of poisonous gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Although these are used on a much smaller scale than industries, the sheer number of people using these fossil fuels in their lives makes this cause a relatively large negative externality. Increasing demand in fossil fuels also results in digging up of the ground to mine these fossil fuels, resulting displacement of many people who live there. It also destroys the natural habitat. Mining of petroleum and natural gas in the sea can cause oil spills, like the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, or the Exxon Valdez. These also destroy the marine habitat severely, and can cause poisoning to those who eat the fish killed by the oil spill.

            The long-term effect of negative externality caused by the use of fossil fuels is that of global warming. Since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, one that traps heat into the atmosphere, it increasing quantity in the atmosphere is causing an increase in average temperature across the globe. This increase in temperature is causing melting of the polar ice caps, resulting in rising sea level. Consequently, many low-lying island have already been flooded by the sea, and it is projected that if this trend continues, they will be completely submerged, leading to loss of life and property, and loss of many ecosystems.

            India has identified this problem and is working hard to implement reforms in the administration to allow for more eco-friendly ways to produce energy and allow industries to function.  The government has formed the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which is aimed at forming policies and programs to address the issue of climate change. Many sub-plans exist within it. National Solar Mission is aimed at development and use of solar energy for current and future generations. It has a goal of increasing production of photovoltaic to 1000 MW/year. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency is aimed at reducing energy use of large-scale users of energy using incentives and public-private partnerships. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat is aimed at creating a sustainable India capable of supporting itself without harming the habitat around it. It plans to implement urban waste management systems and waste-energy production units. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change is aimed at gaining more knowledge and information regarding the issue of climate change and global warming using better climate modeling and climate research funds. The Indian government has also made legislations regarding installation of equipment in industries that reduce the effect of spewed gases, like catalytic converters and scrubbers.

            With these measures in place, India should be ready to battle of climate change and global warming. However, all countries in the world must join hands and battle this issue together. International binding agreements like the Montreal Conference and Copenhagen Accord must be made so that all countries fight this pressing issue, even if they wouldn’t like to. Optional agreements are not effective since the real culprits of global warming, like the Untied States and Canada, end up not signing the agreement and continue to further aggravate the current situation.

            Other methods to control global warming like carbon taxes and carbon trading schemes must be implemented to persuade industries to switch to cleaner and greener technologies to reduce the rate of increasing temperature.