Across India, the lack of adequate data on air pollution is a challenge to addressing air pollution. After all, if you do not know what pollutes and by how much, how can you find solutions? Going in blind has rarely been an effective strategy for solving a problem.

With haphazard urban development and a lackadaisical approach towards pollution control, Bengaluru is a ticking time bomb, says Dr Pratima Singh, Research Scientist at CSTEP, in this interview.

We believe that in long-term forecasting, understanding the dynamic behaviour of the system and its responses to various interventions is crucial.

COP25 comes close on the heels of the UN Climate Summit in New York, in September. Several countries (68 countries accounting for 8% of global GHG emissions) signalled that they will be strengthening commitments at Madrid.

As parties to the Paris agreement prepare to enhance their NDCs next year, non-party stakeholders have a crucial responsibility in leading the governments to take concrete measures to urgently align their growth and climate actions with the 1.5 degree Celsius target. Bridging the emissions gap and enabling a transition to a low carbon economy will require concerted efforts from industries: take responsibility for their contribution to the overall emissions by leveraging and using their strength to rapidly deploy innovative technologies at scale.

The 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) in Madrid was a disappointment on many accounts. Hailed as the ‘ambition COP’, it proved to be everything but. One of the core issues that negotiators were attempting to resolve, but were unsuccessful at, was Loss and Damage financing.

The subsidy to the agricultural sector in Karnataka has seen a whopping increase of 86% - from INR 4,993 crore in FY13 to INR 9,295 crore in FY18 - in just five years. A large portion of this subsidy can be saved by the government by merely mapping the already segregated agricultural feeders with associated distribution transformers and irrigation pump (IP) sets. Mapping will help the distribution company (DISCOM) assess the actual number of active IP sets drawing power, resulting in a better estimate of electricity consumed by them.

In this interview, Dr VS Arunachalam speaks on technology — the great leveller — and how the strategic application of science and technology can help India meet its policy goals.

CSTEP has developed a framework for feeder-wise revenue analysis and monitoring of energy sales (FRAMES) at the 11 kV-feeder level.