Urban Agenda | Decarbonising Freights

However, stricter regulations for the movement of freight vehicles in urban areas, which are majorly operated by diesel, are yet to be part of the policy framework in India. Sectoral experts said there is an urgent need for a course correction as cities are poised to see a marked uptick in logistics movement with the increased penetration of e-commerce: Urban freight is poised to grow by more than double by 2030 from current levels.

The only exception to this policy vacuum is the periodic bans on the entry of heavy goods vehicles in large cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Notably, Delhi frequently implements seasonal bans on the entry of medium and heavy goods vehicles, particularly diesel-run ones, between November and February.

Amit Bhatt, managing director (India) of the International Council of Clean Transport (ICCT), said there is a lot of interest and appetite for cleaning mobility pieces in cities but a lot of that is concentrated on passenger vehicles. “While that is important from an emissions and public health point of view— managing and reducing emissions from freight vehicles are equally important,” he said, stating that even though in numbers the freight vehicles are around 2%, they contribute half of the carbon emissions.

Bhatt stated that most electric vehicle policies of states and even the union government’s FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India) I and FAME II schemes have so far missed out on the freight sector.

Spurthi Ravuri, a research scientist at Centre for Study of Science, Technology ands Policy (CSTEP) too, said the electrification of long-haul trucks has only gained focus recently, following the initiative by the office of the principal scientific advisor to the union government to develop a roadmap for freight decarbonisation. “Several trials and demonstrations are underway to develop strategies to unlock these barriers and advance the adoption. Unique incentives and financing schemes may be required to enable the penetration of ZETs (zero emission trucks) in the fragmented trucking industry,” she said.

Similarly, Pawan Mulukutla, executive program director, integrated transport, clean air and hydrogen at WRI India, said that currently there is a lack of know-how about how electric trucks and other freight vehicles operate so there should be an incentive to deploy at least a thousand trucks to test out how they fare in real-world conditions. “Given most trucks, truck owners are single vehicle owners, an incentive scheme needs to be designed,” he said.

Mulukutla added that across the world, successful transitions have occurred with supply-side mandates. “There can be a mandate that by 2030, all truck manufacturers have to ensure a minimum of 7-10% based on the load class of their vehicles sold are electric and gradually increase it year on year,” he said. He further said that a third variation of intervention can be to set higher fuel efficiency standards for the logistic sector which will indirectly accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and other clean fuels.

An office bearer at a leading truckers association, who asked not to be named, said that currently phasing out of diesel vehicles is done following the directives of the National Green Tribunal and the implementation by respective state transport departments. He said, “The phaseout or quicker transition to cleaner vehicles can occur if the government concentrates on retrofitting existing vehicles with electric engines. But the conversation on retrofitting and how to enable that is currently missing.”

A senior official working with NITI Aayog, who also asked not to be named, said that over the last two years, there have been multiple stakeholder discussions that have taken place within government ministries, public sector units, private sector and it is likely the FAME III will pave the way for faster adoption of EVs in the logistics sector.

With the conversation surrounding net zero and cleaner air, authorities at the local level are recognising their role in the importance of cleaning the logistics sector. Surat Municipal Corporation which has an EV policy said that a timeline is being deliberated about setting a deadline for electrifying all municipal vehicles noting the high pollution impact of utility vehicles, officials in the know said. Similarly, the Delhi EV 2.0 policy currently under deliberation is likely to incentivise the usage of electric freight vehicles, an official said on condition of anonymity.

So far at the sub-national level, decarbonisation of the freight sector has been led by non-government pilot initiatives. In one such initiative, ICLEI South Asia supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) worked with Kochi civic body to prepare a ‘Low Carbon Action Plan for Urban Freight for Kochi’ in 2022. As part of that drive, the organisation subsidised the purchase of 21 EVs for beneficiaries cutting across sectors such as e-commerce, real estate, cooking gas and postal delivery workers.

Another effort in this direction is Laneshift, which is being pushed by C40 and The Climate Pledge and working to accelerate the development of EV infrastructure and the deployment of EV vehicles across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Pune.

However, due to a compelling business case, major cargo operators and other big companies are adopting light commercial EVs voluntarily. Sharvari Patki, programme head, electric mobility, WRI India said as of last month, 3-wheel cargo vehicles have achieved nearly 20% sales penetration.

Sewa Ram, professor of transport planning at the School of Planning and Architecture, said, core city areas of all major cities are already congested with passenger vehicles. To reduce the road traffic burden, innovative measures like using the metro rail in cities such as Delhi can be considered in non-peak hours if there is substantial coverage and links major hubs including airports after conducting feasibility studies. He added last mile emission-free delivery of some goods was successful through battery or cycle-operated rickshaws and other vehicles in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area where only pedestrians are allowed between 9 am and 9 pm.

The HT Urban Affairs team brings to you each week a story about where we live and how it affects the way we live