Towards a Zero Emissions Mandate for Electric Mobility

Zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) open up new opportunities for India to meet its decarbonisation and clean air goals. India has to meet the national ambient air quality standards under the National Clean Air Programme. At the same time, a growing crude oil import bill and resultant rise in current account deficit is yet another push factor. Bending the rising emissions curve in the transport sector is also important from the perspective of meeting the country’s global climate ambitions.

National level policies have focused on providing the critical impetus for the adoption of electric vehicles, and state governments have taken on board ambitious electrification targets within a short-term time frame. The level of ambition is high and ranges from the minimum 30 per cent by 2030 to the NITI Aayog’s stated ambition of 70 per cent electrification of all commercial cars, 30 per cent of private cars, 40 per cent of buses, and 80 per cent of two-wheelers and three-wheelers by 2030.

But overall fleet electrification is still in its very early stages– it is less than one per cent of new vehicle sales. Much more needs to be done to address and gaps in the EV ecosystem in order to build the confidence of consumers and the industry. A stronger regulatory structure and mandate for time bound zero emissions production in India can go a long way in building this confidence and boosting the market. ZEV mandates and targets can ensure wider availability of electric vehicles product range, incentivise OEMs to access financial resources for technology innovation and product diversification and support consumer incentives, charging infrastructure deployment and other financial and non-financial incentives.

Research by our grantee partner, the Centre for Science and Environment has looked at the role of zero-emission mandates in accelerating the transition to electric vehicles. It synthesises recent information on global and Indian electric vehicle efforts to help scope out an agenda for increased collaboration amongst stakeholders to a zero-emission vehicle fleet. It also reviews how zero emission mandates can be designed for India and what implications this can this have for the Indian vehicle industry.

PUBLICATIONS

Towards a Zero Emissions Policy
The Case for Electric 
Electric Bus – Towards Zero Emissions
Demystifying the Electric Car