Delhi became the first Indian city on April 1 this year to switch to Euro-VI grade petrol and diesel. State-owned oil companies are providing this ultra-clean fuel at no extra cost. National Capital Territory includes Noida and other cities such as Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad. In addition, 13 major Indian towns are expected to adopt the new standard for fuel by January 2019.
What does this mean for Delhites, then?
Less air pollution, of course.
The National Capital Territory has one of the highest levels of pollution and is also the most densely populated area in the nation. The increased level of industrial and human activity primarily causes urban air pollution. This means that more energy is being consumed. The fact that the energy used to produce this pollution comes from dirty sources such as petrochemicals or coal will only increase pollution levels.
Think about it: the situation of pollution in urban centers such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore is a kind of vicious cycle. As a result, traffic jams increase, fuel consumption increases, pollution rises, and more people move to these cities. Another example is that the increasing population leads to a rise in the demand for essentials like electricity and water. More people mean more electricity, and that means building more capacity. This means more coal combustion and, therefore, more carbon emissions.
Delhi-NCR consumes about 9,6 lakh tonnes per year of petrol and 12,65 lakh tonnes per year of diesel. Euro-VI fuels contain ten parts per million (ppm) compared to 50 ppm for Euro-IV fuels. The push to use cleaner fuels is good, even though they still have carbon. India hopes to switch all powers in the country to Euro-VI by 2020.
The government has also been promoting renewables in a big way. India is the fourth largest solar power producer on the planet. rooftop solutions, in addition to commercial solar power plants, have seen a healthy increase over the past couple of years. Delhi and other cities have seen a rise in demand for rooftop solar systems after several winter smog disasters. The good news is that people are more aware of what causes the annual choking and are taking active steps to resolve it.
Wind and hydel are also seen as key drivers of the next energy revolution. The electricity grids will be updated to support renewables, which allows consumers to switch from off-grid to on-grid, thus lowering their electricity costs.
Overall, this switch is a good first step towards a cleaner, greener future for India.