Forum for Decarbonisation of Transport Sector | 26 Aug 2021

Why in News

Recently, Forum for Decarbonizing Transport was jointly launched by NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute (WRI), India.

• WRI India is an independent charity legally registered as the India Resources Trust which provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development.
• NITI Aayog serves as an advisory think tank for the government and is chaired by the Prime Minister. It replaced the Planning Commission.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • The forum is a part of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) project, which focuses on developing a coherent strategy of effective policies and the formation of a multi-stakeholder platform for decarbonising transport in the region.
    
    • NDC-TIA is a joint programme of seven organisations that will engage China, India, and Vietnam in promoting a comprehensive approach to decarbonising transport in their respective countries. The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
    • The IKI is a key element of Germany’s climate financing and the funding commitments in the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
  • It will act as the conduit for bringing diverse voices and needs to adopt an integrated approach for greening the transport sector in India.
• Aim:
  
  • To Bring down the peak level of GreenHouse Gas emissions (transport sector) in Asia (in line with a well below 2-degree pathway), resulting in problems like congestion and air pollution.
• Expected Benefits:
  
  • It will help in the development of innovative business models for targeted results and the holistic growth of the electric mobility space in India.
  • It will also provide a platform to initiate dialogues for the development of uniform policies and help achieve specific results in reducing emissions from the transport sector.
• Need:
  
  • India has a massive and diverse transport sector, which is also the third most CO₂ emitting sector.
  • Data from International Energy Agency (IEA), 2020 and Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, 2018 suggests that within the transport sector, road transport contributes to more than 90% of the total CO₂ emissions.
  • With increasing urbanisation, the fleet size i.e. the number of sales of vehicles is increasing rapidly. It is projected that the total number of vehicles will be doubled by 2030.
  • Therefore, the transition to a decarbonisation path for the transport sector in India is essential to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement for 2050.
• Related Initiatives:
  
  • FAME Scheme:
    
    • It is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. Its main thrust is to encourage electric vehicles by providing subsidies.
  • Incentives under PLI Scheme:
    
    • Last year the scheme was rolled out for various industries including an outlay of over Rs. 5700 crore for the automobile and auto-component industry over a period of five years.
    • Around Rs.18,000 crore was approved for development of advanced cell chemistry battery storage manufacturing.
    • These incentives further aim to encourage indigenous development of Electric Vehicles (EVs) so as to bring down their upfront cost.
  • Renewable Automotive Industry:
    
    • India is currently engaged in building a domestic renewable automotive industry with the aim to become the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturing and supplying hub.
      
      • Battery electric vehicle and fuel-cell vehicle technologies are all set to overtake fossil-run vehicles in the country by 2050.

Way Forward

• India has a great opportunity to decarbonize its urban transport sector. Promotion of walking, cycling and public transport coupled with electrification of motor vehicles should be the right strategy for the country.
• To leverage and streamline EVs across the country, there is a need to create a favourable ecosystem for different stakeholders.
• A coordinated effort between these stakeholders will help enable investment, encourage adoption, and ensure fair operation in the industry.

Source: PIB