Impact of Open Burning of Crop Residues on Air Pollution and Climate Change in Indonesia

Abstract

Crop residues are subjected to open burning in Indonesia. These farming practices were studied to determine the proportion of open burned and their contribution to air pollution based on crop and air pollutant specific emission factors. On an annual basis, it was estimated that 45 million tonnes of crop residues are open burned. This leads to emission of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants. On an average, CO 2 and CO dominate the overall emissions with 90% and 8% respectively. The remaining 2% are contributed by CH 4 , SO 2 , NO x , NH 3 , N 2 O, NMVOC and particulate matter. Climate charging emissions were assessed to contribute 12-14% towards global warming potential by the global crop residues open burning.