The fourth edition of the India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) began on Tuesday in Bengaluru to discuss an integrated approach to resolving air pollution and climate change.
The summit has been organised by think-tanks Centre for Air Pollution Studies (CAPS) and the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP).
Health Minister K. Sudhakar inaugurated the event and said that people are dying more owing to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in urban areas than rural areas. “Infections on lungs is much higher in urban areas. COPD across the nation is increasing. Medically speaking, there is silent deaths due to air pollution. We need to have a multi-dimensional approach to address air pollution or else the future will curse us," Dr. Sudhakar said.
India's transition to renewable energy sources, measures to improve the implementation of the National Clean Air Programme, and building partnerships with different communities to implement on-ground solutions are a few of the important topics to be discussed during this four day summit, according to CSTEP.
Participating in the event, Bengaluru-based music composer and Grammy Award-winner Ricky Kej said, “Climate change is not some vague phenomenon that will happen in the future. Our actions sitting over here are having serious implications for people sitting on the other side of the world.”
“Air pollution and climate change are not just environmental problems but a health problem. The narrative of the polar bear dying at the North Pole may or may not get a person to move or act. But when it comes to the health of their child, people are motivated to act,” he added.
