PPPRRROOOJJJEEECCCTTT SSSUUURRRYYYAAA Reduction of Air Pollution and Global Warming by Cooking with Renewable Sources AAA CCCooonnntttrrrooolllllleeeddd aaannnddd PPPrrraaaccctttiiicccaaalll EEExxxpppeeerrriiimmeeennnttt iiinnn RRRuuurrraaalll IIInnndddiiiaaa AAA WWWhhhiiittteee PPPaaapppeeerrr V. Ramanathan and K. Balakrishnan Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, India MMMaaarrrccchhh 555,,, 222000000777 Project Surya will deploy inexpensive solar and other energy-efficient cookers in rural India and document their role in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and soot. Carbon dioxide and elemental carbon in soot, two by-products of fossil fuel combustion, biofuel cooking and biomass burning contribute as much as 70% to the global warming. In addition, soot has well-documented detrimental effects on human health, agricultural productivity, and water budgets at local, regional and global scales. Surya in Sanskrit stands for Sun or Solar Global Warming: Imagine One Trillion 1500-watts Light Bulbs, Always On “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal...” IPCC (2007)1 Total World Emissions Global Radiative Forcing7 7 EC 19962 Pre-Industrial- 2004 1,5 Cooling agents CO 20023 2 Heating agents1,4,6 The cooling and heating pie charts are taken from Ramanathan (2007)7 using data from sources shown above. The infrared heat trapped by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halocarbons plus the solar heat trapped by elemental carbon is equivalent to the heat output from burning one trillion light bulbs (distributed over the globe) of 1500-watts power each, every second of the day and night, throughout the year7. It is no surprise then that this enormous heat trapped by pollutants has led to the unequivocal global warming witnessed during the last 100 years or more.1 The warming is certain to increase in the coming decades since the world’s energy demands are expected to increase by about 60% by 2030.8 Currently, the developed world accounts for 70% of the global energy demand. This will shift in the future since two-thirds of future growth is expected to occur in developing nations.8 Project Surya is an attempt to develop and implement sustainable alternatives for mitigating future increases in the heating of the planet, while at the same time alleviating debilitating side effects of cooking with biofuels on health, water and agriculture. Goal and Uniqueness of Project Surya for Global Warming Mitigation Carbon dioxide and elemental carbon (EC) in particle (aerosol) form in soot are the two largest agents of global warming (pie charts above). The main goal of Project Surya is to reduce future emissions of carbon dioxide and EC. Biomass burning and biofuel cooking are the major sources of EC emissions in India and other developing nations. The current international emphasis in global warming mitigation is on carbon dioxide, whereas the main focus of Surya is on EC, for reasons given in the next few sections. With respect to air pollution reductions, the main focus worldwide is on reducing sulfates, a strong cooling agent. The pie-charts of warming and cooling agents shown suggest that, if in India from acute lower respiratory infections and the cooling aerosols are reduced without a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.12 Air concomitant reduction in warming agents such as EC pollution-related premature deaths can be as high as and carbon dioxide, global warming will accelerate. 2.5 million according to another study (Pachauri and Project Surya is unique in this sense, in that it Sridharan, 1998)12. attempts to reduce air pollution and improve the well- being of humans and ecosystems, without The burden falls disproportionately on women and accelerating global warming. We should caution, children, who inhale soot and other particles from however, that EC aerosols are also sometimes coated smoke released by the burning of biofuels.13 The with organics. These organics, depending on their health impact of India’s cooking fires is not unusual chemical composition and size, can either enhance in the developing world: solid fuel use accounts for the heating by EC or can reflect sunlight and offset 4.8% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s disease burden, 2.5% the warming of EC. It is for this and other reasons of the disease burden in China, and just under 1% of that Project Surya will deploy sophisticated air the disease burden in the poorer Latin American pollution instruments to document the nature of countries.14 particles and gases released into the air. From Local to Regional Impacts: Global Indoor Air Pollution: Health Impacts Dimming About half of the world’s population, and 75% of The soot from indoor smoke ultimately escapes to the households in India, use biofuels and biomass, outdoors and combines with soot from outdoor air including wood, charcoal, crop residues and dung, to pollution (fossil fuel combustion) to form prepare food and heat their homes.9 More than 70% atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs). ABCs envelope of India’s population lives in rural areas. Cooking most of India and the Indian Ocean with a dense accounts for about 60% of the overall energy and layer of brown clouds consisting of copious amounts 80% of the non-commercial energy used in rural of tiny particles of sulfate, nitrate, soot and fly ash, India. More than 90% of the cooking is done with among many other pollutants (see Figure). fire wood and bovine dung, i.e, cow-dung10 (also see pie chart below). Distribution of elemental carbon content of soot in Asia. Ramanathan et al4 Soot and other particles in ABCs lead to a large Urban India (28% of Population) Rural India (72% of population) Primary Sources of Energy for Cooking in India11 reduction of sunlight at the ground and, in addition, lead to large atmospheric solar heating.15,16 The Cooking fires, often open fires in enclosed spaces, dimming by soot also has other major environmental lead to both indoor and outdoor air pollution, with impacts, including slowing down the monsoon detrimental consequences for local health. Several circulation and leading to stronger inversions16 (see international studies have documented that indoor air Table on Environmental and Human Impacts on pollution leads to 400,000-550,000 premature deaths India). An integrated climate-agro-economic 1,16,17 modeling study has shown that surface warming due Environmental and Human Impacts on India to greenhouse gases and reduction of monsoon Impact Parameters Carbon Dioxide Elemental Carbon rainfall due to ABCs have adversely impacted the rice harvest in India by as much as 14% since the Temperature, Warming Warming, during Surface wet season; cooling 17 1950s. during dry season Temperature, Warming Warming Amplification of Global Warming: Atmosphere Atmospheric Heating by Elemental Carbon Monsoon Intensify Weaken Circulation Brown clouds are not limited to South Asia.6,7 Precipitation Increase intense Reduction Atmospheric solar heating by soot, next to carbon rainfall dioxide, is a contributor to global warming and, more Heat Waves Increase frequency Minimal effect locally, to melting of Himalayan glaciers. Over the 18 Himalayan Glacier Melt and retreat Melt and retreat Low Level Minimal effect Increase strength Inversion during dry season Rice Production Decrease (2 million Decrease (5 million 17 tons) tons) Other agricultural Decrease in some Reduction production crops and increase in others Human health Expected, but not 0.5 million (see quantified WHO and Smith from Ref. 12) to 2.5 Atmospheric Brown Clouds Are A Global Problem6 million deaths annually19 last 10 years, we have completed a series of investigations which have pointed out that absorption Lifetimes are Different: Policy Implications of solar radiation by soot leads to atmospheric The lifetime of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere warming over most regions of the world, particularly is on the order of 100 years or more. On the other the tropics, thus contributing to global warming.6,15,16 hand, the lifetime of elemental carbon and other Project Surya will lay the foundation for reducing particles in ABCs is about a few weeks. Thus, ABCs soot emissions in other regions of the planet. Clearly, will respond very quickly to reductions of emissions reduction of soot emission will have a major positive and changes can be documented more easily. If EC impact at the local level (reducing fatalities among reduction is undertaken on a global scale, it can give women and children in villages and cities); at the us a decade or two to come up with viable and regional level (avoiding potential negative impacts on sustainable alternatives for fossil fuel combustion. It monsoon and glaciers that feed rivers like Ganges is important to note that a few decades from now, and Brahmaputra); and at the global level (reduction CO increase will become the dominant driver of of global warming). It is hard to think of another 2 climate change. As a result, efforts to reduce CO environmentally damaging compound that has such 2 emissions should not be delayed. far-reaching consequences. The Human Dimension infrastructure and income levels appear The objectives of Project Surya are three-fold, listed representative of the larger area. The villages are below in the order of their importance: currently connected via a wireless network to a central hub at a local women’s engineering college, •To eliminate the detrimental health effects of the Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for indoor smoke; Women (PMCTW). The region also has the kind of local partners and strong social network that we will •To reduce the negative effects of elemental need for Phase One of the project. Local NGO and carbon in ABCs on the summer monsoon rainfall, academics have already gathered some baseline Himalyan glacier retreat and agriculture; socio-economic data for the area. PMCTW students •To mitigate the global warming effects of and faculty would be able to help with introducing CO2 and elemental carbon.