Black Carbon: Strategies for Emissions Reduction

This initiative seeks to identify policies and business models to reduce emissions from both fossil fuel and biomass sources. We are currently focusing on ways to reduce household and small industry emissions given the health co-benefits. We will be looking at transport-related emissions in the near future.

Black carbon - aka soot - is a significant contributor to global climate change and damaging regional environmental change in South Asia. The particles, produced by fossil fuel and biomass combustion in a variety of economic and household activities including power generation, transport, household cooking and lighting, and small industries, is also a public health problem. Black carbon emissions contributing to respiratory illness and increased mortality among those exposed to it through household energy use, exposure in the workplace, and prolonged exposure to localized air pollution. We have the technologies to significant reduce emissions from both fossil fuel and biomass sources; deployment and (in some cases) enforcement, are the key challenges. The many small point sources mean that large scale small scale changes are required.

This initiative seeks to identify policies and business models to reduce emissions from both fossil fuel and biomass sources. We are currently focusing on ways to reduce household and small industry emissions given the health co-benefits. We will be looking at transport-related emissions in the near future. 

Keywords: Environmental sustainability, clean energy

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