Abstract:

India’s net-zero goal by 2070 and the promise of reducing carbon intensity of its economy to less than 45 per cent by 2030 sets new terms of growth for the country’s transportation sector. This, combined with India’s signing of the declaration on 100 per cent transition to zero-emission vehicles by 2030–40 at the 26th Conference of Parties in Glasgow—with special focus on two- and three- wheelers—foreshadows more disruptive and transformative changes in the sector. This report discusses the challenges in reducing transport emissions that has remained one of the toughest battles locally as well as globally and is turning out to be a “hard to abate” sector. Regions around the world, including India, are failing to build solutions to scale. These solutions are expected to be a complex web of vehicle technology, low-carbon fuels, transportation and mobility strategies, city design and commuting behaviour, and long-range transportation solutions for both freight and passenger segments that include roadways, aviation, railways and waterways. Each of these segments requires scaled-up interventions for the big solution.