Abstract:
The industrial revolution from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s brought about a major change in the standard of living for the general population. There was a rapid development in the fields of chemical manufacturing, automobile engineering and textile factories. However, it came at a cost to the environment and public health. As these industries were heavily dependent on fossil-fuel based energy (coal, natural gas, oil), it led to emission of greenhouse gases like CO2 as well as particulate matter leading to dense fogs and air pollution. Fossil-fuel based energy accounts to 70% of the World Energy Consumption in 2015, which is responsible for about 32 Gt of CO2 emissions.1 This situation is even more pertinent in a country like India, which has nine of the top ten most polluted cities in the world in terms of particulate matter concentration