Page - 22 - in options, Volume summer 2021

Air pollution, linked to several million cases of premature deaths each year, is the largest environmental risk to human health worldwide. The problem is especially bad in India, one of the world’s most polluted countries. A recent World Bank report highlighting IIASA research examined the actions and policies of megacities to tackle air pollution. Part of a long-term collaboration between IIASA and the World Bank on identifying cost-effective strategies for air quality management in China, India, South Africa, and Vietnam, the report offers lessons on how governments can tackle the growing challenge of air pollution by examining Delhi, Beijing, and Mexico City. The research, led by IIASA researcher Pallav Purohit, shows that a large portion of air pollutant emissions in India originates from solid fuel used for cooking, poor waste management practices, and crop residue burning—all of which are associated with poverty and underdevelopment. However, sources of pollution are only partly within large cities. As much as 60% of air pollution in Delhi is caused by fine particulate matter that originates from outside the city. “There is no silver bullet for solving the problems associated with air pollution and only sustained political commitment will address this very serious issue,” explains Purohit. “Achieving clean air, which would save millions of premature deaths annually, needs integration over multiple policy domains, including environmental policies focusing on pollution controls, energy and climate policies, and policies to transform the agricultural production system.” Malaysia relies heavily on the production of palm oil for cooking and the production of oleochemicals. However, increasing palm oil production has led to the generation of excess agricultural wastes in the country. Effective use of agricultural wastes for bioenergy can potentially improve resource efficiency in the palm oil sector. IIASA research has helped to identify optimal national policy configurations for promoting sustainable bioenergy production in Malaysia. The study’s analysis shows that bioenergy could contribute up to 30%, 27%, 22% and 6% substitutions, respectively, of the country’s long-term electricity, industrial heat, diesel, and gasoline demands. This could lead to as much as 58 million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide emission reductions by 2050. Additionally, the researchers showed that as much as 40% of the country’s biomass feedstock would remain available for use in agriculture and other industries. “We developed a specific BeWhere-Malaysia model and the results were promising in terms of increasing sustainable bioenergy production combined with emission reduction targets,” explains study coauthor and IIASA researcher Sylvain Leduc. “Our study opens new opportunities to develop an assessment for Southeast Asia on improving the sustainable use of oil palm in order to benefit the bioenergy industry and climate targets, as well as afforestation,” adds first author Muhammad Nurariffudin Mohd Idris, an alumnus of the IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP). “Coordination of policies on the production of bioenergy among the national sectors involved is key to achieving Malaysia’s nationally determined contributions at a lower cost.” Toward better bioenergy e‰ ciency in Malaysia A S I A Tackling air pollution in India Regional impacts Sylvain Leduc: leduc@iiasa.ac.at Pallav Purohit: purohit@iiasa.ac.at Further info: pure.iiasa.ac.at/17007 Further info: www.iiasa.ac.at/news/pollution-20 22 Options www.iiasa.ac.atSummer 2021