Undertaken By: The Energy and Resource Institute, Recent Publication: 2018
India has demonstrated its commitment to fast-track greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures that align well with its development priorities. A consideration of co-benefits, such as improvement of air quality, expected reductions in human health impacts, increase in agricultural yields etc. against a business-as-usual (BAU) pathway, can significantly strengthen the case for proposed climate actions by tilting the overall cost-to-benefit ratio favourably towards the latter. Furthermore, as elucidated in the NAPCC’s approach of simultaneous advancement of India’s development and climate objectives, co-benefits are viewed as more meaningful objectives to pursue rather than outright climate mitigation. Therefore, it is extremely relevant that while assessing the implications of a low carbon growth trajectory for India, the co-benefits to be derived from proposed policy measures designed to mitigate climate change are also evaluated and quantified. Additionally, consideration of co-benefits will support more informed prioritization among available policy options. Given this context, this study carries out a co-benefits assessment of various energy policy scenarios. The co-benefits that are assessed and quantified include reductions in emissions of air pollutants, change in concentration of air pollutants, impacts on human health, and agricultural yields.