Unlocking the unsustainable rice-wheat system of Indian Punjab: Assessing alternatives to crop-residue burning from a systems perspective

Crop residue burning in Indian Punjab emits particulate matter with detrimental impacts on health, climate and that threaten agricultural production. Though legal technological barriers to exist – alternatives considered more profitable farmers continues. We review black carbon (BC) emissions from Punjab, analyse social-ecological processes driving burning, rice wheat value-chains. Our aims are a) understand system feedbacks practices Punjab; b) identify systemic effects of c) companies financial actors investing production Punjab. find locking the into crop burning. The Government India has greatest leverage risk current system. Corporate stakeholders have little incentive enact change, but sufficient stakes value chains influence change. Agricultural policy changes necessary reduce harmful practices, insufficient bringing about sustainability. Transformative will require diversification, circular business models green financing. Intermediating institutions setting sustainability conditions loans could these changes. Sustainability requires systems perspective we provide, reconnect demand supporting environmental conditions.