Clean Air: How The Right Combination Of Nature, Tech & Policy Lead To A Healthier India

Fossil fuels remain a key contributor to PM2.5 and NOx emissions, and the transition to clean energy would be critical in improving air quality and achieving climate goals.

Currently, we look at nature-based solutions and the advancing technology in silos.

Source : Freepik

By Aman Gupta & Amrit Rath

We are long past treating air pollution as an episodic or isolated issue. It is now a year-round public health emergency, a development barrier and a social equity challenge, specifically for countries such as India, where urbanisation and industrial growth continue to flourish.

For millions, it could mean the difference between health and chronic illness, between productivity and missed school days, between life and premature death. Yet, in 2021 alone,  it accounted for 8.1 million deaths globally. In India, the daily toll included over 640 children under five. 

Moreover, the World Bank estimates that the health damage caused by air pollution costs $6 trillion a year - a 5% reduction of global GDP, due to health impacts, lost productivity and reduced life expectancy. In India, reduced productivity, work absences and premature deaths caused by air pollution cost the economy an estimated $95 billion - 3% of the country’s GDP - in 2019. Addressing this crisis requires a systemic transformation across sectors.

Scaling clean energy is now a necessity

The air we breathe is largely shaped by the energy we produce. Fossil fuels remain a key contributor to PM2.5 and NOx emissions, and the transition to clean energy would be critical in improving air quality and achieving climate goals. According to the  International Energy Agency, global clean energy investments need to triple from the 2022 levels to meet both climate and air quality goals. Emissions from transportation also account for a significant proportion of urban air pollution, contributing up to 30% to PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in India. 

India is responding, but needs to accelerate for sustainable transformation. The adoption of public transit, non-motorised transport and electric vehicles can significantly reduce particulate matter and NOx emissions. The Government is also doubling down on electric mobility through initiatives such as the PM E-DRIVE scheme launched last year, which aims to boost the EV ecosystem and green mobility with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore over a period of two years ending March 2026. On another note, the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2019, has been extended to 2026, with a revised target of a 40% reduction in PM10 levels compared to 2017. 

Nature - the overlooked air quality and public health system

Nature-based solutions such as urban forests and wetlands are often considered aesthetic add-ons. In reality, they also act as silent air purifiers. A Glasgow study showed that increasing tree cover from 3.6% to 8% could reduce annual PM10 by 2%.

As per another study, when green space crosses 27% of land area, the pollution-reduction benefits become significant. Yet, most Indian cities lag in integrating green infrastructure systematically. This is a missed opportunity to create cooler, cleaner and more liveable urban spaces.

Bridging silos: nature and technology working together

Currently, we look at nature-based solutions and the advancing technology in silos. Having a more holistic look and combining NbS with the technological interventions will reap compounding effects that can potentially realise wonders against air pollution. For instance, using GIS and AI to identify pollution hotspots comes up as an emerging solution to optimise green cover placement.

Across cities, tree plantations and dust control systems are planned by different departments, on different timelines, with limited coordination. This isolation is a missed opportunity. Imagine if cities used real-time pollution data and AI mapping to decide where to plant trees and where to retrofit old boilers or deploy air filters. Or if green buffers were installed alongside industrial scrubbers in construction zones. The combined impact would far exceed either measure in isolation.

Yet today, we still lack the evidence base to guide these integrated interventions. Most studies evaluate either nature-based solutions or industrial technologies, almost never their intersection. That needs to change. We must ask new questions: How does tree density influence pollution dispersion near a highway? Can green infrastructure reduce the need for expensive emission controls in low-pollution zones? Which nature-tech combinations yield the best return on public health and investment with improvement in air quality?

A new paradigm for clean air

We need to look at air pollution not just as a health issue, but a broader development, health and equity challenge. It is time for a unified approach and solutions. When nature-based solutions, clean technologies and forward-looking policies are combined intentionally, clean air can transition from being an aspiration to an achievable public good.

(Gupta is the Associate Director of Sustain Labs Paris & Rath is the Senior Manager of Sustain Labs Paris)

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