Incorporating political-feasibility concerns into the assessment of India's clean-air policies

Political-feasibility concerns are at the center of real-world air-pollution policymaking. Yet, these concerns are often not represented in leading decision-support tools that have been used for assessing policies' environmental impacts. Focusing on a wide range of clean-air policies in India, we assess their political-feasibility scores on the basis of public opinion, market, and institutional considerations and then incorporate these scores into the evaluation of environmental impacts by using an integrated assessmentmodel (GAINS-South Asia). We demonstrate that although some policies with substantial potential to mitigate air pollution are also highly politically feasible (e.g., replacing solid fuels with cleaner fuels in households), others can be less politically feasible (e.g., banning agricultural waste burning). Because some clean-air policies co-reduce CO2 emissions and aerosols, considering varying degrees of political feasibility is particularly important in achieving air-pollution and climate objectives simultaneously because of its implications on the implementation scale and policy sequence.

Automated summary

Political feasibility is a crucial factor in air pollution policymaking, which often influences the implementation of clean-air policies. This study evaluates the political feasibility of various clean-air policies in India based on public opinion, market, and institutional considerations, and highlights the importance of considering varying degrees of political feasibility in achieving air-pollution and climate objectives simultaneously.