Delivering India’s NDC Targets: Role of Transport

Transport is central to India’s economic development, supporting mobility, trade, employment, and access to opportunities. At the same time, rising passenger and freight demand, increasing vehicle ownership, and continued dependence on fossil fuels are contributing to growing transport-sector energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

As India advances its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, understanding the role of transport in delivering national climate targets is increasingly important. This project examines how transport can be better integrated into India’s climate action and reporting architecture, while identifying pathways for reducing the sector’s emissions without compromising development and mobility priorities.

The study provides a comprehensive assessment of the role of transport in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), drawing on evidence from India and other countries. It reviews the extent to which transport-specific targets are incorporated into NDCs globally, examines India's transport-related climate commitments and reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and identifies opportunities to strengthen the sector's contribution to national climate goals.

For India, the project assesses the coverage of transport across national climate submissions, including National Communications, Biennial Update Reports, NDCs and the Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy. The project also examines the role of transport within India's national and sub-national climate architecture, including the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCCs). It explores how stronger institutional coordination and systematic data collection at the state level can support the monitoring and reporting of transport-sector mitigation outcomes.

Key Areas of Work

The project focuses on:

• Global assessment of transport in NDCs: Reviewing transport-specific quantitative targets across countries and examining patterns by income group, geography, transport mode and target type.
• Assessment of India's climate submissions: Reviewing how transport has been addressed across India's UNFCCC submissions and identifying gaps in coverage, data, reporting and mitigation tracking.
• Transport-sector MRV: Developing a proposed framework for strengthening data collection, institutional responsibilities, quality assurance and reporting for transport-sector GHG emissions and mitigation outcomes.
• Pathways for transport decarbonisation: Identifying opportunities across vehicle electrification, fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, public transport, and modal shift, with particular attention to high-emission and high-growth segments.
• International case studies: Drawing lessons from ten countries on the institutional, financial and other factors influencing the integration of transport into NDCs.

Events and Workshops

• Event on “India’s Energy Transition in the Transport Sector: Integrating Transport with NDC”
• Roundtable discussion on “Transport in Climate Action: National Priorities and Global Expectations for COP30”
  • Event Page
  • Social media outreach
• TERI at the SLOCAT Pavilion, COP30
• TERI-ADB Knowledge Sharing session on “Ramping up the Ambition of Transport-Related Climate Policy Targets in Asia and the Pacific” [Link to event page to be included once created]

Perspectives

Article on “COP 30 exposes fault lines - and India’s climate priorities”

Article on “From road to rail: Unpacking India’s transport strategy to meet national climate commitment”

Article on “Beyond Targets: Rethinking Sectoral Pathways in India’s Climate Strategy”