NITI Aayog and the World Resources Institute (WRI), India, with the support of GIZ India, organized a virtual discussion seminar on the topic of ‘Financing for Decarbonization of Transport’ as a part of the Nationally Determined Contributions – Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) project. A statement released by the NITI Aayog said that the Government is working diligently towards the decarbonization of transport, with a primary focus on the adoption of sustainable mobility.
The aim of the workshop was to point out the workable plan of action and bring together the financing institutions and the transport organizations to work together for facilitating innovative financial policies for the decarbonization of the transport sector. NITI Aayog will act as the implementing partner for the India part of the project.
The dignitaries from various ministries, NDC-TIA project partners, representatives of Indian banks, international financial institutions and private sector companies, and stakeholders and experts from the transport and financing sectors attended the workshop.
Amitabh Kant, the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog conveyed the theme speech while Germany’s Minister and Head of the Department for Economic and Global Affairs, Dr Stephen Koch, delivered a special address.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said in his keynote speech that in India we need more similar financial mechanisms to further provide the momentum to clean portability. That is why it is of utmost importance to bring the states, the domestic and international financial organizations, as well as the manufacturers and operators on the same page. We will have to come up with financing instruments that are universally relevant, acceptable and, most importantly, feasible.
He further said that we must promote shared mobility by taking support from the private sector investments and unlocking financing for e-buses, which is the central mode of transport for the movement of the public in our cities. The broad gauge aim should be to strike a balance between the needs and aspirations of our people, enhance liveability and productivity by further improving the connectivity, bringing down the cost of logistics and accelerating clean mobility, all the while taking an approach that is climate-centric and sustainable, not just from an environmental point of view, but also from a financial point of view. Green financing will enable the low-interest cost financing of the electric vehicles, he added.
Dr Stephen Koch said that what India requires is a strong plan of action for the electrification of the transport sector. The financing will play a pivotal role there. The capital requirements can be fulfilled through the collaboration of multiple stakeholders. The NDC-TIA initiative will bring together a wide spectrum of participants to smoothen the peer-to-peer learning and the exchange of information on various themes, including Financing the Decarbonization of Transport, he added.
World Resources Institute (WRI) India CEO Dr OP Agrawal said that transport is India’s third most greenhouse gas emitting sector. It reports for around 14 per cent of our total energy-related CO2 emissions. At the same time, it is also the sector that is growing at a rapid rate in the country. So, if we wish to move towards a low carbon future, then decarbonizing the transport sector would necessarily have to be accelerated.
Amit Bhatt, Executive Director (Integrated Transport), WRI India, added that the lack of accessibility of financing is one of the foremost hindrances while working towards the goal of decarbonization of the transport division. Tactical investments and novel financial solutions can reinvigorate an accelerated transition to 100 per cent zero-emission motor vehicles, which is an essential takeaway from the Conference of the Parties (COP26) declaration.
The NDC-TIA is a joint strategy of seven institutions that engages India, China and Vietnam in promoting an all-inclusive approach to decarbonizing transport in their respective countries. The transport decarbonizing project is a part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). On the basis of a decision adopted by the Bundestag (German Federal Parliament), the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) support the initiative.
