The International Transport Forum (ITF), NITI Aayog and the National Institute for Transforming India have jointly launched the ‘Decarbonising Transport in Emerging Economies’ (DTEE) project in India, on June 24, 2020.
The launch, held via a webinar, was inaugurated by International Transport Forum – ITF Secretary - General Young Tae Kim and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog - Amitabh Kant, in the presence of D.S. Mishra, Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Priyank Bharti, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
‘Decarbonising Transport in Emerging Economies’ (DTEE)
The ambitious five-year project will help India develop a pathway towards a low-carbon transport system
The ambitious five-year project will help India develop a pathway towards a low-carbon transport system, through the development of modelling tools and policy scenarios. During his opening address, Young Tae Kim, the Secretary-General of the International Transport Forum, thanked NITI Aayog and their Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Amitabh Kant, for the support and collaboration on this project.
Young Tae Kim said, “We are very pleased to launch this project with India, and excited that it is being so well received by our partner, NITI Aayog. This is a very important and promising undertaking that will provide practical support for the Indian government, for making the right choices on the way to a low-CO2 transport system.”
‘Decarbonising Transport in India’ project
Young Tae Kim adds, “Our collaboration on the ‘Decarbonising Transport in India’ project is also an opportunity to further strengthen the relationship between India and the ITF.”
In his keynote address, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant emphasized that the decarbonisation of the transport sector would create a cleaner, healthier and more affordable future for everyone.
Modelling tool and assessment framework
Amitabh Kant said, “The DTEE project would help India translate its climate ambitions into actions. The modelling tool and assessment framework would provide a targeted analytical assistance, to identify these climate actions and help us draw policies rooted in data analysis and advanced modelling.”
He adds, “Given our diverse demographics across socio-economic factors, such as population, age, income, etc., it would be important to first estimate the demand for transportation in India and then do a detailed modelling to compute the CO2emissions.”
Evidence-based assessment of mitigation impacts
Amitabh Kant continues, “Building on this evidence-based assessment of mitigation impacts, bringing DTEE and NDC-TIA together under this collaboration would support our policymaking, by identifying various scenarios to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets, submitted by India under the Paris Agreement.”
This project could very well define our future urban policies and could help us in designing policies"
He further said, “This project could very well define our future urban policies and could help us in designing policies, which are firmly grounded in data and are likely to be highly efficient, and impactful across the entire transport ecosystem in India.”
D.S. Mishra, Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said “Our country is urbanising very fast, which will throw up huge challenges in terms of provision of various kinds of infrastructure, especially mobility.”
International Transport Forum and NITI Aayog partnership
D.S. Mishra adds, “Our strategies need to be in tune with our requirements, when our population doubles. I would like to congratulate NITI Aayog and ITF for coming up this project, which is one of the commitments of the Paris Agreement and the Government of India and we are working to achieve it.”
The transport sector of India is the third most greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting sector, with the major contribution coming from road transport. Out of the total carbon dioxide emissions in India, 13% come from transport. These emissions have more than tripled since 1990. The increasing motorisation and demand for mobility in India have contributed to air pollution, congestion, as well as the increase of greenhouse gas emissions, in the urban area.
Measures to tackle CO2 emissions
In India, CO2 emitted per inhabitant was just about a twentieth of that of an average OECD country, yet, India’s transport CO2 emissions are likely to increase by almost 6% annually to 2030. India is actively taking a number of measures to tackle its emissions, including newer fuel emission norms as well as the promotion of electric vehicles in the country.
NITI Aayog has been at the helm for the promotion of electric vehicles and sustainable mobility through its ‘National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage’.
Transport emissions assessment framework
The ‘Decarbonising Transport in India’ project will design a tailor-made transport emissions assessment framework
Given India’s vast size and its enormous and diverse transport sector, strategic policy decisions will have to be driven predominantly by data. The ‘Decarbonising Transport in India’ project will design a tailor-made transport emissions assessment framework for the country and provide the government with a detailed understanding of current and future transport activity and the related CO2 emissions as a basis for their decision-making.
The ITF project team will work in close cooperation and coordination with India’s government agencies, local decision-makers, researchers, experts, and civil society organisations. Stakeholder workshops, training sessions, briefings for policymakers and mitigation action plans will support the development of policies, beyond the duration of the project.
Decarbonising Transport global initiative
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’ family of projects, which supports transport decarbonisation across different world regions.
India, Argentina, Azerbaijan and Morocco are current participants. Decarbonising Transport in Emerging Economies (DTEE) is collaboration between the International Transport Forum (ITF) and the Wuppertal Institute, supported by the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
