Rapid urbanisation, e-commerce and motorisation have made urban freight a crucial part of our lives. The urban freight network consists of goods originating from or outside the urban periphery and entering into an urban area through commercial vehicles.
Road transport, with a share of over 59% of freight, dominates freight movement in India. Road freight is vital for trade and prosperity, helping to connect people, goods, factories and markets. But a majority of these freight vehicles on the road rely on diesel, leaving a large footprint on India’s climate and environment and reinforcing the country’s oil important dependency. It is estimated that 10% of India’s freight-related carbon dioxide emissions are due to urban freight. The associated emissions and congestion issues undermine public health and quality of life.
An increased focus on clean road freight is paramount to address these challenges and advance low-carbon growth. To accelerate this effort, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, through an MoU, is collaborating with the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) to develop viable clean and energy-efficient freight solutions.
The MoU provides a framework for collaboration to explore policy measures and implementation pathways to reduce fossil fuel dependence from the transport and freight sectors and foster the exchange of knowledge and best practices to reduce freight emissions. The key areas of collaboration include technical assistance for policy and research, capacity building of critical stakeholders and the development of guidelines, tools and frameworks.