IndexIntroductionIndian Government and OfficialsSourcesConclusionIntroductionClimate change refers to the disruption of weather patterns due to the change in the chemical balance of the ecosystem. It is mainly caused by greenhouse gases and other terrestrial and atmospheric pollutants that are mainly present due to the industrialization of humanity. These substances cause an imbalance in the environmental balance and cause extreme weather conditions, which is nature's way of correcting the imbalance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Ranked sixth in the world for contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, India released 1,843 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the environment. the atmosphere in 2000, about 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Several studies also suggest that these figures will increase in the near future if India does not deviate from its current path. 18% of the national GDP comes from the agricultural sector which employs more than 50% of the population in 2018, making India one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change as the agricultural sector would be significantly affected by climate change and pollution. Global emissions don't seem like much and are in fact dwarfed by emissions from countries like the United States and China. However, according to numerous studies, Indian cities are the most polluted in the world and the urban population is the most at risk due to their proximity to industries and the greater density of vehicles. Therefore, the question we ask is: to what extent have the actions taken by India been successful in combating climate change and pollution? The essay will analyze and evaluate the actions taken by the Indian government and officials, the Indian people and the industrial/private sector in the 21st century, and establish that India has in fact not succeeded and that greater cooperation and cohesion are needed for may India succeed in its pursuit. Indian government and officials Climate change, catalyzed by pollution, is a major problem for developing countries like India that face unstable weather conditions. This is particularly dangerous in the Indian context as the majority of the population relies on the environmentally sensitive agrarian economy for their income. Having become a major concern for the Indian government, it has been trying to put an end to this problem. Manmohan Singh (2004-2014) Manmohan Singh kicked off the nation's quest for a clean and green India when he joined 16 other countries around the world to pledge India's involvement in working towards a cleaner environment at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) in July 2009. However, there was no emphasis on working for a cleaner environment. Soon after raising the issue of water pollution in the Ganges River, the river is considered by Hindus to be the holiest river in the world. The river, which was once crystal clear, had become one of the most polluted rivers in India. Manmohan Singh saw the need to clean the Ganges (aka Ganga) River. In August 2011 he introduced the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) campaign to re-establish the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) launched much earlier in April 1986. The objectives of the NMCG were to reduce pollution in the Ganga and ensure the continuous flow of water to rejuvenate the Ganges. The campaign which initially seemed active did not change the level of pollution of the Ganges due to the large influx of pilgrims. On April 17, 2012, since it wasn'tNo improvement has been made in the Ganga, Manmohan Singh asked state governments to take action against industries polluting the Ganga. Term of Narendra Modi (2014-present) Almost two years later, Narendra Modi, who succeeded Manmohan Singh has taken up the issue of pollution with new vigour. ObservingSince energy was a key resource for production and growth, he focused on providing clean energy. Today, one of the world's largest renewable capacity expansion programs is underway in India. Sources In 2016, less diesel was also used, which is very polluting. The share of renewable grid capacity grew from 2% in 2002 to 13% in 2015. Furthermore, the energy contribution of solar energy, which was only 3.9 MW in 2005, increased to 4,060 MW in 2015. Biomass energy, which contributes only about 18% of total energy production, contributes to more than 70% of pollution. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), together with the Government of India, has helped rural communities in five states, namely Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha, transition to lower-carbon biomass. In rural communities, most families burn firewood for household activities such as cooking. During the monsoon season, mud stoves become unreliable and the wet firewood used releases toxic amounts of smoke into the atmosphere. Modi is also trying to shut down the Badarpur power plant, which produces more than 80% of Delhi's particulate pollution and supplies only 8% of Delhi's electricity. The plant was originally scheduled to close in October 2017, but was delayed because it supplied electricity to a nearby stadium hosting FIFA U-17 World Cup matches. Modi also took advantage of the digital age and launched the Digital India campaign to make government services available to citizens online. Save on labor and energy needed to run various government offices. Modi also launched the Swachh Bharat Mission which aims to provide adequate sanitation to residents of India. To date, over 78 million toilets have been built in rural India. This mission, in addition to providing adequate sanitation, reduces water pollution by eradicating the need to defecate in the open due to the lack of toilets. This mission also encourages the conversion of waste into energy, in the form of compost fertilizers, which are more environmentally friendly than fertilizers produced by chemical industries. The government's actions would prove futile if the public did not comply with the policies and laws enacted by the governing body. Furthermore, governments cannot make laws that target a particular group of people as this would cause backlash and chaos. In a country where Hindus make up 80.9% of the population, Diwali, the festival of light celebrated by Hindus involves the burning of firecrackers that release huge amounts of greenhouse gases. March 18, 2018 saw the start of a nine-day Mahayagna (a Hindu ritual) in Meerut, India, which burned 50,000 kilograms of mango wood to reduce air pollution. Burning 50,000 kilograms of mango wood is estimated to release 20,150 kilograms of CO2 and over 1,900 kilograms of other greenhouse gases and particulate matter. In this case, the actions taken by the government would be considered anti-Hindu and would upset 80.9% of India's population. Human and vehicular pollution A mere government is helpless without its people. Therefore, it is crucial to take a look at what the Indian population has done to contribute to efforts against pollution and climate change. One of the causesThe main causes of pollution are India's rapid urbanisation, followed by the massive expansion of private transport. Rise of vehiclesThe number of vehicles has almost doubled from 73 million vehicles in 2004 to 142 million vehicles in 2011. This has significantly increased the number of cars on the roads in India, leading to increased traffic congestion and deaths caused by car accidents. Before we talk about how much pollution driving creates, let's look at how much CO2 is released by simply manufacturing a car. In India, a mid-sized family car has a carbon footprint of around 24 tonnes of CO2 gas over its life cycle and around 25% of this emission comes from manufacturing alone. That's 6,000 kg of CO2 released into the air to produce just one car. This, multiplied by the number of vehicles produced in India for local use and export abroad (3.95 million cars), gives us a staggering 24 million tonnes of CO2 emitted from automotive production alone. The main cause of this can easily be attributed to the need of Indians for a personal vehicle, as can be seen from the drastic increase in the number of vehicles registered by the population. Vehicle Quality Apart from the huge number of vehicles being one factor, other factors of vehicular pollution are old automotive technologies such as 2-stroke engines, poor fuel quality, inadequate maintenance, old vehicles and poor development of the transport sector such as congested traffic, poor road conditions and overall a poor traffic management system which drivers easily and ignorantly flaunt. The first problem, however, has been addressed in the following figure. The above table shows the restriction imposed by different actions of Bharat Stage (BS), which decides the limit of levels of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) in the air. Although restrictions have become more and more stringent every year, the increase in the amount of pollution in the air does not appear to be abating. According to one study, the number of old cars with low fuel consumption is expected to be around 15 million and rising. These cars contribute greatly to the release of particulate matter, CO2 and hydrocarbons due to their inability to fully utilize diesel fuel. The two examples above show us that the people of India do not bother to help fight pollution. They turn a deaf ear to government requests to reduce their carbon footprint. People often complain about how pollution affects them badly, but they do not give up the need for a vehicle as social status. Their show-off mentality isn't the only reason they buy cars. There are other reasons, such as apathy towards the external environment, poor public transport services and poor connectivity in public transport. Fighting vehicle problems But it cannot be said that no one in India cares about the environment. Two visionaries in particular, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, have made a huge impact on the transportation sector in India. They are the founders of the Indian online transportation network company OLA Cabs. While the concept may have been similar to that of Uber, these men have made the service more suitable for the Indian environment and provide a wider range of transportation vehicles to choose from. This concept is really commendable and finds a use for already available cars which are unused and put them into use for the benefit of common people. Indians also seem to like the concept and have used this service to their advantage and contribute less to pollution. According to studies conducted by Ola, around 0.9 million vehicles were..