Our work in the transport sector aims at low-carbon modes of transport that are sustainable and inclusive in nature. We have pioneered policy research in this sector with expertise in issues related to energy efficiency and emissions modeling. Among others, our focus areas include electric vehicles, railways, urban transport.
Trucks have gradually become a dominant mode of freight transport, replacing the railway, the traditional bulk commodity carrier. Crisscrossing through the country, trucks are responsible for nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions and air pollution in the urban areas.[1]
Global dependence on fossil fuels in the transport sector has been a key driver of climate change and air pollution. In India, motorized transport accounts for a large share of the country’s total GHG emissions. Therefore, the swift replacement of internal combustion engines (ICE Vehicles) with Electric Vehicles (EVs) is imperative to decarbonize India’s transport sector.
Roads and railways bind a nation and bring people together. They facilitate the achievement of SDGs, as without adequate mobility, SDGs cannot be achieved and sustained.
TERI's survey on consumer perception of electric vehicles (EVs) revealed that issues like upfront cost, battery replacement, and range anxiety are topmost concerns for people considering buying an EV.
In the post-COVID scenario, the predicted demand of the three-wheeler sector might increase and a shift of commuters from app-based taxies may be expected. To promote electric mobility in India, auto-rickshaws can play a vital role as frontrunners.
On 29th July 2022 | 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
The event will see experts across sectors discuss the opportunities & need to shift the road transport sector to decarbonisation pathways along with the launch of a policy brief on 'Low Carbon Pathways for the Road Transport Sector in India'.
On 11th March 2022, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM IST
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), to be held from 1–12 November 2021 in Glasgow will aim to mobilize the action on mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, and strengthen the narrative for better alignment with sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Accelerating economic growth along with equitable recovery is fundamental to sustainable development and climate action. Under the presidency of United Kingdom in partnership with Italy, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), to be held from 1–12 November 2021 in Glasgow will aim at mobilising action on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, and aligning them with sustainable development goals.
TERI, with the support of Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), is organising a virtual event on decarbonising the urban freight sector in India.
The automobile sector is a raw material intensive hard-to-abate sector making it a natural candidate for implementing circularity on the road to net-zero in 2070 says Dr Asha Ram Sihag, Distinguished Fellow, Resource Efficiency and Governance Division, TERI and former Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India and Ms Akshaya Paul, Research Associate, Transport and Urban Governance Division, TERI.
There are seven areas of focus for accelerating adoption of EVs across different geographies, including institutional and policy readiness, infrastructure readiness, technology readiness, economic readiness, social readiness, environmental readiness, and innovation readiness says Mr Sharif Qamar, Associate Director Transport and Urban Governance Division TERI.
On World Earth Day, experts from the ICCT and TERI reckon that the increasing awareness of environmental and cost-related benefits of EVs is driving the EV demand in the country. According to Mr Sharif Qamar, Associate Director and Area Convenor, Transport and Urban Governance Division, TERI, there are seven areas of focus for accelerating the adoption of EVs across different geographies – institutional and policy readiness; infrastructure readiness; technology readiness; economic readiness; social readiness; environmental readiness; and innovation readiness.
India has commenced its E20 petrol pilot in 32 cities, but industry experts are concerned that consumers are unaware of its impact on vehicles. Mr I V Rao, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, said vehicles' E20 fuel consumption could be higher than unblended petrol due to lower calorific value. The actual value will depend on the engine and how the engineers have tuned it for the blended fuel.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) and Ayush, Shri Sarbananda SonowaI inaugurated India's first Centre of Excellence in Green Port & Shipping (NCoEGPS) on 22 March 2023. The Centre results from a collaboration between the MoPSW and TERI. The Centre housed at TERI complex in Gurugram will act as the Nodal entity for the industry for building green ships and will work towards meeting the obligations under the Paris Agreement.
When countries negotiate climate action at high-profile international forums, local perspectives and leadership largely remain on the sidelines. According to UN predictions, by 2050, 75% of the world’s population would reside in urban areas. As a result, local leadership and governance will have an increasingly significant global impact, writes Rhea Srivastava, Research Associate, Transport and Urban Governance Division, TERI. As part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a sustainable and resilient urban future is a global goal.
India has the 2nd largest road network in the world. Amongst the different types of roads, the National Highways extending to 1,44,634 km has contributed significantly to India’s rapid economic development. The rapid pace of construction of highways is enabling integration of the local economies of far flung towns and villages into the national economy.
70% of total tonne-km of India's freight transport takes place via roads (TERI, 2015) and is dominated by medium and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) with a share of around 60% and the remaining by light-duty vehicles (LDVs). Reduced emission levels from 'hard to abate' sectors such as medium/heavy-duty long-distance transport, aviation, and shipping will continue to be critical in the future. Sustained efforts in this direction are crucial to achieving emission intensity reduction targets globally and in India, as outlined in the country's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
India is the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. At present, India accounts for a significant multimodal road transport sector contributing approximately 10 per cent of country’s total CO2 emissions, making it the second most carbon emitting sector in the country. Driven by rising population, income, and urbanization, under a business-as-usual scenario, India’s energy demand from transport is projected to increase six fold in 2050 from current levels.
One of the key strategies in the Union Budget 2022 for increasing rail freight market share, aims at facilitating the integration of smaller goods through seamless solutions and multimodal logistics facilities at cargo terminals. Despite an increase in railways' market share to 45% by 2030, a key transport decarbonization strategy for India, it continues to exhibit a gradual decline due to a variety of reasons.
Railways has often been termed as the "backbone of the economy", facilitating passenger and freight transportation to the length and breadth of the country. In recent years, railways has experienced a constant decline in the freight business, resulting in a growing concern for railway finances and National Decarbonisation Targets.
In Chennai, auto rickshaws constitute 40% of all transport vehicles and 58% of passenger transport vehicles. The share of auto-rickshaws has increased from practically zero in 1970 to over 6% in 2008.
