Last Updated:January 22, 2026, 22:35 IST Echoing Gopinath’s Davos statement, the Congress MP suggested that the Prime Minister’s Office should appoint a dedicated ‘Air Quality Czar’ Tharoor echoed Gopinath’s concerns by highlighting a decade-long struggle to bring air pollution into the mainstream political discourse. Image/X In a sobering assessment of India’s economic trajectory, Gita Gopinath, a professor at Harvard University and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, has warned that environmental degradation poses a more significant threat to the nation’s wealth than international trade barriers. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Gopinath asserted that the internal costs of pollution—ranging from public health crises to diminished labour productivity—now outweigh the potential risks posed by global protectionism or shifting tariff regimes. Her remarks put the spotlight on a growing consensus among global economists that India’s macroeconomic stability is inextricably linked to its air and water quality. The intervention has drawn immediate support from some domestic political figures who have long advocated for environmental reform. Shashi Tharoor, a Member of Parliament and …