INDIA: Health costs due to air pollution 8 times more than fuel subsidy
The health cost due to air pollution in India was 8 times more than the fuel subsidy given by the government.
India spent $16.9 billion (more than Rs. One Lakh crore) on oil, gas and coal subsidies in 2013 and 2014 but the health costs to meet the burden of air pollution-linked diseases was 8 times more at $140.7 billion (more than Rs. Eight Lakh crores), says a report by an European environmental non-profit organization, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL).
See chart below to see the worldwide figures:
Making a case for spending fossil fuel subsidy money on public health instead, the report released on Thursday claimed that G20 governments spent about $444 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel companies in 2014, but the health costs of these subsidies in the form of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as premature deaths, were as high as $2.76 trillion, six times the subsidy amount.
The report said not all fossil fuels are bad. In fact, LPG has significant health benefits when used to substitute biomass or coal as cooking fuel.“About 400 million households have been helped to make the switch from burning solid fuels to the healthier LPG option with the help of subsidy schemes since 1980.
On kerosene, the authors noted that “as much as half of the subsidised kerosene is simply sold on the black market since it can be used in diesel engines.”Kerosene is “poor man’s fuel”used by millions of households in rural India to meet basic lighting needs. Government subsidies make the fuel more affordable.They said kerosene smoke is rich in black carbon and kerosene poisoning among children remains a concern.
China spent about $96.5 billion on fossil fuel subsidies and its associated health costs are $1,785.4 billion, 19 times the subsidy amount.
