Tackling Coal-Driven Air Pollution in China and India

The report analyzes how China and India are tackling coal-driven air pollution through stricter emission standards, renewable energy subsidies, and improved air quality monitoring, contrasting these efforts with Indonesia's current policy landscape. It highlights that while China and India are shifting toward renewables and implementing rigorous coal plant standards, Indonesia continues to expand its coal capacity and maintains more lenient emission limits and scarce air quality data.

• China has implemented some of the world's strictest emission standards for coal power plants since 2011, resulting in significant decreases in particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, and sulphur dioxide emissions compared to 1990 levels.
• India has shifted its financial support from fossil fuels to renewables, with government support for renewable energy increasing nearly six-fold from USD 431 million in FY 2014 to USD 2.2 billion in FY 2017.
• Indonesia's emission standards for coal power plants are significantly more lenient than those in China and India, and proposed revisions are criticized for being too weak to force existing plants to lower emissions.
• Indonesia lacks comprehensive air quality monitoring and data, particularly for PM2.5, whereas China provides real-time data via websites and apps, and India operates a nationwide network of 731 stations.
• Coal-driven air pollution causes substantial premature deaths in all three countries; in China, it was estimated to cause over 241,000 premature deaths in 2013, and in India, 169,000 in 2015.
• Indonesia's energy mix remains heavily dependent on coal, with a plan to add 27.1 GW of coal capacity by 2028, and it is likely to miss its target of 23 per cent renewable energy in the energy mix by 2025.

APA

Suharsono, A., Sanchez, L., Garg, V., & Gass, P. (2019). Tackling Coal-Driven Air Pollution in China and India. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/coal-pollution-lessons-indonesia.pdf

Chicago

Suharsono, Anissa, Lourdes Sanchez, Vibhuti Garg, and Philip Gass. Tackling Coal-Driven Air Pollution in China and India. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/coal-pollution-lessons-indonesia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Suharsono |first1=Anissa |last2=Sanchez |first2=Lourdes |last3=Garg |first3=Vibhuti |last4=Gass |first4=Philip |title=Tackling Coal-Driven Air Pollution in China and India |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=July 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/coal-pollution-lessons-indonesia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{suharsono2019tackling, author = {Suharsono, Anissa and Sanchez, Lourdes and Garg, Vibhuti and Gass, Philip}, title = {{Tackling Coal-Driven Air Pollution in China and India}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/coal-pollution-lessons-indonesia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }