Weight Of Freight

The environmental burden of freight transport is huge. A new policy brief discusses ways to electrify this sector

 

Over two-thirds of Indian goods are transported on roads. The freight vehicles that transport these goods are largely dependent on fossil-based fuels for their movement.

They account for approximately 53% of the country’s transport fuel consumption and 54% of CO2 emissions.

In India, freight vehicles travel about 430 billion kilometers annually, consuming about 80.7 billion litres of fuel, with diesel accounting for 90% of it. This magnitude of environmental impact warrants immediate action to electrify freight transport.

CSTEP analysis shows that electrifying even 30% of light goods vehicles can lead to a reduction of 41 Mt of CO2. This is 7 times more than the emission reduction realised by converting a kilometer of two-wheeler movement and 3 times more than that of a kilometer of four-wheeler movement. The analysis shows that significant benefits can be realised from the faster electrification of freight transport.