Can NAPCC’s New Sustainable Transport Mission Decarbonise India’s Transport Sector?

The Centre is considering adding a mission for “sustainable transport” in its National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) to accelerate its efforts to decarbonise the transport sectors which significantly contributes to pollution, reported Business Standard.

This marks the inclusion of a new mission in the NAPCC in over a decade. As per Business Standard, with this inclusion, India will have similar programmes as the European Union, a few developed nations, and African nations.

The plan, being prepared by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Morth) as the nodal body, would be divided into various sub-sectors like road transport, railways, ports, shipping, and civil aviation and will address vehicular emissions and develop green policies in the transport sector.

Speaking about the pace of progress in this regard, one of the officials told Business Standard, “Morth has been working on the mission for two years. The document was not approved so far. It is now updating the document with the latest data for 2030 and beyond.” He added that sectoral allocations regarding the contributions of the transport sector will be determined by the apex committee.

“The framework will allow greener transport solutions to offset emissions from legacy polluting sectors like road transport, enabling the country to meet its broader targets,” another official told Business Standard.

The draft action plan on transport has been circulated to the line ministries and comments are currently awaited.

The draft action plan, after implementing the feedbacks from the line ministries, will be submitted to the MoEFCC for review. The final document will serve as a broader guideline for future green policies in the transport sector, the official added.

India's First Adaptation Plan

India is also drafting its National Adaptation Plan (NAP), which will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by September, reported by Business Standard.

While India already has its NAPCC, this will be the first time it is drafting a climate plan in compliance with the Paris Agreement.

The draft NAPCC, which has been submitted to the UNFCCC, primarily targets mitigation—reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The adaptation plan, being led by MoEFCC, will focus on nine thematic areas, i.e., agriculture, water resources, health, gender issues, poverty, traditional knowledge, finance, resilient infrastructure and biodiversity and forestry.