The UN secretary General has called for treating the present as a climate emergency. France and the UK have decided to become net carbon neutral by 2050.

• Electricity generation is the largest user of fossil fuels, and thus a key generator of carbon emissions.
• Decarbonising electricity generation entirely with renewables and storage is technically feasible.
• After electricity, the largest use of fossil fuels is in the transport sector.

Decarbonising transport:

India’s transportation sector is estimated to witness the fastest growth in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions across all sectors.

• In India, using electricity for train movement is far cheaper than using diesel, and the Railways are moving towards full electrification.
• As India’s electricity generation becomes gradually free of fossil fuels, the Railways would be moving towards lowering carbon emissions.
• However, in road transport, the use of petrol and diesel is expected to keep rising in a business-as-usual scenario.
• Electric vehicles (EVs) are far cheaper to run now.

Issues with Electric vehicles (EVs)market in India:

The reason EVs don’t have a higher market share is due to the absence of charging stations.

• Without charging infrastructure, very few EVs are being sold.
• As very few cars are being sold, setting up the charging infrastructure is not an attractive investment.
• A critical mass of public charging stations as well as charging facilities in all multi-storey apartments and office complexes is needed.

The best way would be for the government to give a policy directive to the electricity distribution companies to create the critical mass of the charging infrastructure in metros and large cities.

“Decarbonising Transport in India” project:

Recently, NITI Aayog in collaboration with International Transport Forum (ITF) launched the “Decarbonising Transport in India” project.

The main objective of the project is to develop a pathway towards a low-carbon transport system for India.

• The online event will inform transport and climate stakeholders in India about planned project activities.
• It will also offer the opportunity to provide inputs regarding India’s transport challenges and how they relate to CO₂reduction ambitions.
• The discussion will help to focus the project further on India’s specific needs and circumstances

What it will do?

• The “Decarbonising Transport in India” project will design a tailor-made transport emissions assessment framework for India.
• It will provide the government with a detailed understanding of current and future transport activity and the related CO₂emissions as a basis for their decision-making.

International collaboration:

• India has been a member of ITF, an intergovernmental organization for transport policy, since 2008.
• The India project is carried out in the wider context of the International Transport Forum’s “Decarbonising Transport” initiative.
• It is part of the “Decarbonising Transport in Emerging Economies” (DTEE)family of projects, which supports transport decarbonization across different world regions.

India, Argentina, Azerbaijan, and Morocco are current participants