Policy Brief
Clean Freight Program: Baseline Study (Phase-II)
10 Feb 2026
| Mr Sharif Qamar
| Piyush Saxena
| Arun Kumar
| Arun Babu
Rising Freight Demand & EmissionsIndia’s freight transport demand is witnessing a significant rise, projected to increase from 2,682 billion tonne-kilometres (BTKM) in 2019-20 to 7,260 BTKM by 2030-31, with road freight expected to account for approximately 85 per cent of the total movement. Continued reliance on road transport, coupled with the sector’s dependence on fossil fuels, poses critical challenges for India’s long-term energy security and climate mitigation goals.
Institutionalizing Freight Emissions Accounting in India: Pathways for Clean Freight Programs and Policy Integration
09 Feb 2026
Freight transport is the backbone of India’s economy, but it is also one of the most emissions-intensive parts of the transport system. Despite accounting for a small share of the vehicle fleet, road freight contributes disproportionately to greenhouse gas and air-pollution emissions. As freight demand continues to grow, the absence of credible, standardised emissions measurement risks locking in high emissions for decades. Robust freight emissions accounting is therefore a critical first step toward enabling effective decarbonisation, improving air quality, and aligning logistics growth with India’s climate goals.
From Fuel Economy to Clean Air: Strengthening Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) Norms for Passenger Vehicles in India
27 Jan 2026
| Piyush Saxena
The transport sector is India’s third-largest emitter, accounting for approximately 12 per cent of energy-related CO₂ emissions, with road transport contributing over 90 per cent of total transport emissions. Passenger vehicles (PVs) are growing rapidly in India. Even though car ownership in India (cars per 1,000 population) remains low (~35) compared to Japan (496), China (195), the USA (588), and Germany (582), absolute vehicle numbers are rising quickly due to population growth and rising incomes.
Green Steel by 2030: Building the business case for the first green steel plant in India
22 Jan 2026
| Will Hall
| Sidharth Sinha
| Mayank Aggarwal
Green Steel by 2030: Building the business case for the first green steel plant in India presents new analysis to support steel companies, policymakers, financiers, and civil society in identifying the conditions necessary to make commercial-scale green steel viable in India.
India’s PV Manufacturing & Its Strategic Inflection Points
09 Jan 2026
| Aniket Tiwari, Arunendra K Tiwari
The report, “India’s PV Manufacturing & Its Strategic Inflection Points,” was released on 9 January 2026, at the ITC Maurya, New Delhi. The launch took place between 6:30–7:00 PM as a cornerstone of the formal unveiling of India’s National Cleantech Manufacturing Implementation Plan during the Bharat Climate Forum 2026.
Policy Brief: Roadmap for Zero Emission Truck (ZET) Skilling in India
05 Jan 2026
| Megha Chauhan
Globally, road vehicles contribute 20 per cent of CO2 emissions; yet trucks, which account for less than 1 per cent of the total vehicle fleet, contribute approximately 35% of those emissions. In India, the situation is similar: while making up only 3 per cent of road vehicles, commercial trucks are responsible for 34 per cent of the road transport sector's CO2 emissions. Though this segment is carbon-intensive, it remains essential for the country’s economic development. India is also the world's third-largest automotive manufacturer, contributing 7.1 per cent to annual GDP and providing direct and indirect employment to approximately 1.9 crore people (MHI, 2023).
Skilling for an EV-Ready India A Roadmap for 2047
05 Jan 2026
| Mr Sharif Qamar
| Megha Chauhan
As India advances toward its Net-Zero 2070 commitment and the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, the electrification of transport has emerged as a critical pillar of sustainable development. The Indian automotive industry is currently undergoing a profound transformation driven by Industry 4.0 (4IR). This transition from Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) to Electric Vehicles (EVs) necessitates the digitization of end-to-end processes, fundamentally impacting the entire value chain—from component manufacturing to the finished vehicle.
The Belém Package Recasting Ambition, Equity, and Finance in the Next Phase of Climate Action: A COP30 Debriefing Paper
12 Dec 2025
| Dr Manish Kumar Shrivastava
The 30th annual meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and 7th meeting of the CMA1 convened in Belém from 10- 22 November 2025. This marked a decade since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. The Brazilian presidency framed the meeting as the “Global Mutirão”, a collective effort to move from commitments to implementation. It approached its leadership by prioritising partnerships not only among countries but also with institutional actors within and beyond UNFCCC.
BIPV in Action: Global Climate Case Study Compendium
20 Nov 2025
| Mr Alekhya Datta
| Dr Arunendra Tiwari
| Mr Aniket Tiwari
| Ms Prachi Saini
TERI, under the consortium of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Arconsol, and Sunappeal, developed a Global Climate Case Study Compendium on Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), unveiled at COP30. This landmark publication showcases real-world BIPV projects across diverse climate zones, offering insights into design, technology, and policy innovations for sustainable urban energy transitions.
Strengthening Multilateralism on the Road to COP33 and Beyond
11 Nov 2025
| Dr Shailly Kedia
| Abhilash Kolekar
| Ishita Srivastava
The world remains off-track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, with global temperature rise projected to exceed 2.5°C by the end of the century. The existing structure of global climate governance is widely regarded inadequate to deliver the pace and scale of transformation that science demands.