WSDS 2025 Thematic Track - Accelerating India's Pathways to Sustainable Transport and Emission Reductions through Transport specific NDCs

India’s updated NDC targets a 45% reduction in GHG emissions intensity by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. India’s transport sector is the third largest contributor to total emissions in the country, contributing around 12% of total GHG emissions. With the rapidly increasing population, urbanization, and development of industry and tertiary sector, the country’s transport demand is rising exponentially. According to TERI's analysis, the passenger demand is expected to increase by more than four-fold and freight demand by more than twelve-fold by 2070-71 from 2019-20 levels which will lead to a higher emission and a serious repercussion on the air quality.

India’s NDC targets incorporate several mitigation efforts to promote sustainable transportation through increasing the modal share of railways, promoting mass rapid transits, accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles with policies like FAME I-&II and PM E-Drive, implementing vehicle fuel efficiency improvement programmes, and promoting alternate fuels, etc. However, India currently lacks explicit emission reduction targets for the transport sector which is crucial for achieving effective transport decarbonisation targets. Setting up clear and achievable sectoral-specific targets can enhance India’s existing NDC ambition, provide a structural pathway for transport decarbonization, and reinforce the country’s long-term net-zero commitments.

Objective

It is high time for India to strengthen its commitment to reducing transport-related emissions by setting clear emission reduction targets. To drive this critical discussion forward, TERI is organizing a thematic session on “Accelerating India's Pathways to Sustainable Transport and Emission Reductions through Transport-specific NDCs” at the WSDS 2025. The session aims to focus on actionable strategies and design pathways including policy framework, energy transition, technological interventions, and finance mechanisms to achieve an accelerated reduction in emission intensity of the sector. This discussion will explore sector-specific opportunities and challenges across road, rail, and urban mobility, highlighting implementation pathways to enhance low-carbon mobility solutions.