Greening India's growth: costs, valuations and trade-offs

India’s sustained and rapid economic
growth offers an opportunity to lift millions out of
poverty. But this may come at a steep cost to the nation’s
environment and natural resources. This insightful book
analyzes India’s growth from an economic perspective and
assesses whether India can grow in a “green” and sustainable
manner. Three key issues are addressed. The first is the
physical and monetary costs and losses of environmental
health and natural resources driven by economic growth. The
authors undertake a monetary valuation and quantification of
environmental damage, using techniques that have been
developed to better understand and quantify preferences and
values of individuals and communities in the context of
environmental quality, conservation of natural resources,
and environmental health risks. The second part estimates
the value of ecosystem services from the major biomes in
India using state-of-the art methods with a view to
preserving them for the future. The third section provides a
menu of policy instruments to explore trade-offs between
economic growth and environmental sustainability using a
computable general equilibrium approach with particular
attention to air pollution. The conclusions focus on the way
forward in terms of policies, measures, and instruments as
India seeks to balance the twin challenges of maintaining
economic prosperity and simultaneously managing its
environmental resources.