Haryana Launches State Environment Plan and Landmark Report on Non-CO₂ Pollutants
1 October 2025 - On 16 September 2025, Haryana Chief Minister Shri Nayab Singh Saini unveiled the new State Environment Plan (SEP), released in Panchkula, Haryana, which offers a complete analysis of the state's environmental landscape. The plan covers areas like agriculture, waste management, transportation, air and noise pollution, as well as biodiversity. The SEP was developed through a partnership between the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Also released was A Dual Strategy Sprint Towards Sustainability: Non-CO₂ Pathways for Haryana. This report calls for a dual-pronged approach to tackle non-CO₂ pollutants, or short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), which are fast-acting climate forcers, in addition to CO₂. This is important because SLCP mitigation offers immediate dual benefits: dramatically improving air quality and rapidly combating climate change. This report was also collaboratively developed by IGSD, HSPCB, and TERI.
The urgency is clear. Haryana’s 2022 heat stress experience already showed significant damage to crops. Future assessments predict a 15-17% loss in essential irrigated rice and wheat yields by mid-century. This poses a serious risk to the state's food security.
Chief Minister Shri Nayab Singh Saini framed the environment as non-negotiable for prosperity:
“Even if our GDP is the world's highest, if our air is polluted, our water is contaminated, and our essential resources are depleted, our lives will lose meaning, no matter how strong the economy looks on paper.” The Chief Minister highlighted the twin challenges of waste management and citizen participation. He noted that despite the 2013 ban on single-use plastics, polythene is still widespread. "No law, campaign, or NGO effort will succeed unless people themselves feel that pollution is making life unbearable." He urged for a united front: “The three essentials of human life—food, water, and oxygen—are all polluted today. The government will continue its efforts, but unless NGOs, students, communities, and ordinary citizens join hands, nothing significant will change.”
Echoing this focus on grassroots change, Minister of Environment, Forest & Wildlife, Shri Rao Narbir Singh, stressed the need for public awareness:
“The biggest issue is segregation of waste. People are still not aware of segregating wet waste and dry waste. Fines and challans alone cannot solve the problem—change must come from within.”
Pardeep Kumar, IAS, Member Secretary, HSPCB, reinforced the state's commitment to long-term sustainability.
“Our focus is not just on achieving short-term goals, but on ensuring that development in Haryana is always aligned with sustainability principles. Development should never come at the cost of our environment.”
He detailed departmental efforts across critical areas like crop residue management, plastic pollution control, and air and water quality. "We have set clear departmental targets," he said, "and I am confident that with everyone’s cooperation, we will achieve even better results."
Ms. Zerin Osho, Director for the India Program, IGSD, praised the strategic focus of the plan, noting its national significance:
“Haryana’s 2025 State Environment Plan (SEP) makes it the first in the country to have a non-CO₂ focus beyond its traditional structure.” She highlighted that the SEP's dual strategy—reducing non-CO₂ emissions in the near term and CO₂ in the longer term—is a model for others to follow.
"This will ensure long-term food and socio-economic security for the state, and provide an example for other states to follow. Haryana’s 2025 State Environment Plan makes it the first in the country to have a non-CO2 focus beyond its traditional structure, making it a dynamic and responsive plan that has the capacity to deliver results in the current state of the environment."
Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, said:
"The need to supplement long-term decarbonization with short-term warming mitigation is urgent, especially since countries like India in the Global South face immediate impacts. Haryana is showing leadership here. The State Environment Plan and Non-CO₂ Pathways reports provide a granular, scientific understanding of emissions, offering best-case scenarios for cutting non-CO₂ pollutants. When we make climate issues measurable with data, we deliver precise solutions in faster timeframes. These reports, developed in close partnership with IGSD, TERI, and HSPCB, will be key to Haryana's success."
The CEO of GMH, Marcelo Mena, said:
“Haryana, often described as one of India’s industrial and agricultural powerhouses, has become the second state after Punjab to adopt such a forward-looking climate strategy. Its plan shows the power of innovation and leadership at the subnational level. By addressing both carbon dioxide and other short-term super pollutants, the state is protecting communities today while advancing India’s long-term net-zero goals. The Hub is proud to support this milestone, which sets an inspiring precedent for states and regions around the world.”
Durwood Zaelke, Founder-President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, said:
“With warming accelerating and irreversible tipping points getting closer and closer, it’s essential to cut non-CO2 climate pollutants, especially the short-lived super climate pollutants. Cutting the super pollutants is the sprint we can win in the next few years to slow warming while we also run the marathon to decarbonize and reduce CO2. I am proud that IGSD in India has been able to successfully develop emissions reports at a sub-national scale in Haryana. Such reports are invaluable in terms of the data insights they offer, and I am sure we will be able to replicate the success for states across India in future.
Offering a global perspective, Kevin Tidwell, Managing Director, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, said:
"Climate change will disproportionately burden the Global South. It is essential to support research aiming to understand and mitigate the near-term effects of global warming; in particular, we need to better understand non-CO₂ climate pollutants and related mitigation pathways. IGSD’s work in India, with a focus on the impact of short-lived climate pollutants at the subnational level, is particularly significant. More quantifiable emissions and their effects on local communities help drive cost-effective impact by shaping policy, funding, and action."
Michael Northrop, Program Director, Sustainable Development Program, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, said:
"As the world readies for intensified climate conversations in the days and weeks ahead, it is essential to recognize the value of subnational emissions efforts. For climate-vulnerable geographies especially, it is critical to have dual strategies in place—not only long-term decarbonization pathways, but also frameworks that drive action on short-lived climate pollutants such as methane and black carbon, which have severe near-term impacts. IGSD’s work in India is crucial for the country’s climate future."
