Transitioning India’s Road Transport Sector

Realising climate and air quality benefits INTERNATIONAL ENERGYAGENCY The IEA examines thefull spectrumof energy issuesincluding oil, gas andcoal supply anddemand, renewableenergy technologies,electricity markets,energy efficiency,access to energy,demand sidemanagement andmuch more. Throughits work, the IEAadvocates policies thatwill enhance thereliability, affordabilityand sustainability ofenergy in its31member countries,13associationcountries and beyond. IEA membercountries: IEA associationcountries: AustraliaAustriaBelgiumCanadaCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIrelandItalyJapanKoreaLithuaniaLuxembourgMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPolandPortugalSlovak RepublicSpainSwedenSwitzerlandRepublic of TürkiyeUnited KingdomUnited States ArgentinaBrazilChinaEgyptIndiaIndonesiaKenyaMoroccoSenegalSingaporeSouth AfricaThailandUkraine This publication and anymap included herein arewithout prejudice to thestatus of or sovereignty overany territory, to thedelimitation of internationalfrontiers and boundaries andto the name of any territory,city or area. The EuropeanCommission alsoparticipates in thework of the IEA Source: IEA.International Energy AgencyWebsite: www.iea.org Abstract India aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2070 – a demanding task giventhecountry’s ambitious sustainable development objectives.Road transportcurrently accounts for a relatively small share in national CO2emissions, but asIndia seeks to satisfy the mobility needs of its growing, urbanising and rapidlydeveloping population, energy demand and CO2emissions from the sector coulddouble by 2050, locking in emissions and putting at risk the achievement of thelong-term climate goal. This report,the product of a collaborate effort between the International EnergyAgency (IEA) and India’s public think tank NITI Aayog, provides a detailed pictureon how CO2emissions from road transport are likely to grow under existingpolicies and compares these projections with a pathway that could bring the sectoron track with the 2070 goal. It discusses various policy options that the countrycould assess if it is to accelerate the shift to sustainable road transport, focussingon the benefits that energy efficiency improvements and a switch to cleanerenergy sources can bring. The report also quantifies the co-benefits a rapiddecarbonisation of road transport can bring in terms of tackling air pollution – oneof India’s most pressing environmental challenges. Acknowledgements This report was prepared by the IEA’s Environment and Climate Change Unit inthe Energy and Environment Division (EED) of the Directorate of Sustainability,Technology and Outlooks. Britta Labuhn co-ordinated the project. Lead authorsfrom the IEA were Insa Handschuch and Britta Labuhn, with major contributionsfrom Cornelia Schenk and Alison Pridmore from the Energy Efficiency Division,Aditya Ramji (UC Davis) and Swati Dsouza (consultant). Sara Moarif, formerActing Head of the EDD, provided overall guidance. The IEA is thankful for NITI Aayog’s collaboration and support throughout theproject. Special thanks go to contributing authors Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha (Advisor–Infrastructure Connectivity,Transport and Electric Mobility),Joseph Teja,Gautam Sharma, and Nidhi Jha and Abhishek Saxena (Public Policy Expert) forhis overall guidance and support. Valuableinputs and comments were provided by current and former IEAcolleagues, including Oskaras Alsauskas, Hana Chambers, Xiushan Chen, DanielCrow, Elizabeth Connelly, David Fischer, Theresa Gebhardt, Julia Guyon, LydiaJayakumar, Hyeji Kim, Martin Küppers, Apostolos Petropoulos, Disha Sharma,Siddharth Singh, Thomas Spencer and Jacob Teter. Senior managers within theIEA, including Kieran McNamara, Brian Motherway, Melanie Slade and StéphanieBouckaert provided valuable feedback. Data on air pollution has been modelledby the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). The authors are also grateful for valuable inputs and feedback from externalexperts, including: Reji Mathai (ARAI), Saurabh Diddi and Pankaj Sharma (BEE),Arpan Patra, Karthik Ganesan and Himani Jain (CEEW), Sarbojit Pal (CEM),Anumita Roychowdhury (CSE), Sakshi Dasgupta (EDA), Pulkit Srivastava andAshpreet Sethi (EVage), Anup Bandivadekar (Hewlett Foundation), Amit Bhatt(ICCT), Pallav Purohit and Jens Borken-Kleefeld (IIASA), Pierpaolo Cazzola(Independent advisor), Malithi Fernando and Vatsalya Sohu (ITF), Paresh Goeland KC Sharma (MoRTH), Rohit Pathania, Roshan Toshniwal, Shilpi Samantrayand Snehil Singh (OMI), Prashant K Banerjee (SIAM), and Sharif Qamar (TERI),Sumit Sharma (UNEP), Lewis Fulton (UC Davis), Arnab Bandyopadhyay andGeraldOllivier(World Bank),Ajay Nagpure,Chaitanya Kanuri and PawanMulukutla (WRI). Thanks are also due to Astrid Dumond, Therese Walsh and Isabelle Nonain-Semelin of the Communications and Digital Office for their roles in producing thisreport. Elspeth Thomson edited the report. The individuals and organis