The Charge d`affaires of US embassy, Michael P Pelletier said promoting development and combating air pollution are like two sides of the coin with no conflict between two. At the launch of series of Indo-US collaborative workshops on air pollution in north India Pelletier says.

To reduce this air pollution the two countries announced a joint initiative during President Obama`s visit to Delhi. This workshop was first collaborative attempts. In Chandigarh, the workshops of the same pattern are held in next few day. This may also continue in Lucknow and Jaipur.

People had been considering development and controlling pollution with dissonant ideas said, Pelletier.

“Losses due to premature death from air pollution alone, not including the costs of healthcare or the losses associated with the grinding suffering of chronic disease, are almost 6% of the GDP, which nearly cancel out India’s strong rate of economic growth,” Pelletier said.

Air pollution in the US dealt during a phase of unparalleled economic growth said, Pelletier. In subsequent decades after the implementation of air pollution in the US grew fourfold.

“This sustained investment to improve air quality and protect public health has led to handsome dividends. Every dollar the government invested to implement the Clean Air Act has generated $30 dollars in benefits. In sum, the Clean Air Act has yielded $2 trillion in benefits, almost all of them related to lives saved, diseases avoided, and worker productivity boosted,” Pelletier added.

“We are trying to compete with them in consumption. Let’s consume less. Now, anyone who gets a job takes a loan to buy a car first. This when Delhi has more cars than Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata together.” Jain said.