Theme:
- In November 2021, at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, India pledged that it will cut carbon emissions to net zero by the year 2070.
Role of EV to achieve net-zero emission target by 2070:
- As per the World Air Quality Report 2020, the primary sources of air pollution in India are transportation, construction and stubble burning. So, to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, India has to work on these three areas and also on the other minor sources of air pollution.
- Transport demand will only increase in the coming years. Even if the government takes steps to decrease private vehicle usage by improving public transport, vehicular pollution cannot be reduced due to the increasing demand. So, there is a need to transform the transportation sector by switching to alternatives to fossil fuel-based vehicles.
- There are many alternatives to fossil-fuel-based vehicles such as biogas vehicles, electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles etc.
- Among all the alternatives to fuel-based vehicles, electric vehicles have plenty of advantages over others such as they are the safest, efficient etc.
- Oil PSUs announced in November 2021 that they will set up 22,000 EV charging stations in the next 3-5 years.
- The Indian government is planning to use electric vehicles for all the central government ministries and their field offices.
- In India, as of 2021, 70% of electricity is generated through coal power plants. So, even if we switch to EVs, powering them with coal-based electricity will only defeat the purpose. So, to achieve net-zero emissions in the transport sector, there is a need to completely switch to renewable energy resources such as solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, biogas etc. to generate electricity.
- There is a need to make Electric vehicles more affordable so that it will be easier for middle-class people to buy them instead of fuel-based vehicles.
Conclusion:
In India, the transportation sector is one of the major sources of carbon emissions. So, to achieve the net-zero target by 2070, India has to prioritize transforming the transportation sector by switching to Electric vehicles. But the net carbon emissions from the transportation sector will become zero only when the electricity to power electric vehicles is generated by renewable energy resources such as solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, biogas etc.
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