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This article was originally published on ET Insights.

By 2030, India’s urban population is expected to nearly double to 600 million. Cities have always attracted migrants who come to urban areas in search of better opportunities. However, this increased urbanization will put enormous pressure on infrastructure and increase pollution as well....

Every Indian city has at least one man-made mountain where ‘waste’ generated in our homes and businesses end up. About 90% of the staggering 150,000 metric ton of urban solid wastes generated everyday make their way to such locations. Called dump yards, landfills or garbage mountains, these toxic sites are the dark underbelly of India’s bustling, glittering cities and are home and workplace for tens of thousands of people.

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The latest greenhouse gas (GHG) emission data submitted by the Government of India to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through its third biennial update report (BUR3) reveals interesting trends about Indian industry. In 2016, the most recent year for which data is now available, emissions from Indian industry constituted 22% of the country’s total GHG emissions. This includes emissions from energy use by manufacturing industries and construction, and the...

In FY2020, the goods carrier segment accounted for 17.5% (1,11,554 units) of the total domestic 3-Wheeler industry sales (6,36,569 units) in India. Since last year, the COVID-19 pandemic-induced restrictions have brought a structural shift in shopping behavior, where an increasing number of customers and businesses are shifting towards e-...

Electric mobility is widely considered to be an effective way to improve air quality and address environmental concerns, which ultimately benefit their primary users. However, the sector’s viability is heavily affected by factors like incentives on discarding used vehicles, favorable government policies, purchase incentives, safety and performance of the vehicles. Consumers are further interested to know how much they would be saving on fuel expenses if they switch to Electric Vehicles (EVs). Some incidents where EVs were not able to deliver the range claimed by their manufacturers have...

Well-designed carbon markets have the potential to harness least-cost emission reductions. Over the last two decades, the Indian industry has built its experience with multiple market-based mechanisms such as the “Clean Development Mechanism” (CDM), “Perform, Achieve and Trade” (PAT) and “Renewable Energy Certificate” (REC) that have led to emission reductions. However, the effectiveness of these market-based mechanisms has been limited...

The ride-hailing industry has altered commuting patterns in Indian cities. Cabs have been the most popular model, followed by buses, bikes and autorickshaws, which have gained matured ridership and continue expanding their businesses.

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There is now growing consensus around a key finding first published by the IPCC in 2018: the world needs to reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by mid-century to meet the 1.5° C temperature target of the Paris Agreement, something which will require transformational changes across energy and transport systems, industrial technologies and processes, and lifestyles.

UN Environment’s Emissions Gap Report...

This is the first blog in a new series on carbon markets in India. In this blog series, we will share insights from WRI India’s corporate carbon market simulation in which more than 20 leading Indian companies participated during 2020-2021.

In December 2020, the Government of India constituted an Apex Committee to oversee India’s Implementation of the Paris Agreement. This...

On January 30, 2020 within two weeks of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring a pandemic worldwide, India reported its first COVID-19 infection. Subsequently, the first lockdown was announced on March 25. Close on its heels followed a mass migration of workers from parts of the country. This resulted in the displacement of nearly 10 million rural migrants and shortly after, the loss of millions of jobs. At the time of writing, India has more than 1.2 crore total reported cases and also has the world’s highest number of recoveries. Worldwide, there are over 13 crore cases, with US...