A new committee has advised to shift towards urban public transport using green fuel in 10 years
The Energy transformation Advisory Committee (ETAC), led by former oil secretary Tarun Kapoor and established at the behest of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG), has produced a study titled "The Green Shift: The low carbon transition of India's Oil and Gas sector" explicitly states an urgent need for clean and green transport. “ No diesel city buses addition be allowed in urban areas, to drive towards the transition towards clean fuel urban public transport in about 10 years,” notes the report in its recommendations.
From 2024 onward, no new city buses that are not electric diesel buses should be installed for city transportation by 2030.
The paper outlines a plan for the country's oil and gas public sector undertakings to transition to clean energy while focusing on expanding the use of these sources in the nation's energy mix, including hydrogen, biofuel, nuclear, geothermal, and tidal power.
According to the analysis, in addition to 40% ethanol vehicles, necessary engine modifications and revisions to emissions requirements also need to be taken care of.
In order to boost the usage of electric vehicles in the nation, the government should probe the "targeted extension" of incentives offered under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles programme (FAME) beyond March 31.
“Standardization of EV two wheeler is required to ensure build-up of charging and promote battery swapping. EVs may be promoted as the optimal solution in preparing for phasing out internal combustion engine two / three wheel vehicles by 2035.”
Surface transport must move in the general direction of shifting in favour of EVs. Through a framework of financial and policy assistance, necessary support for developing an ecosystem for EV-based mobility must be encouraged, according to the report.
The study has also argued in favour of using gas-powered trucks and railroads more frequently for business transportation. The nation's railway system is expected to be totally electric in two to three years.
In India, long-distance buses will eventually need to run on electricity, with petrol serving as a transitional fuel for the next 10 to 15 years.
The paper makes the recommendation that starting in 2024, all new registrations for city delivery vehicles should solely be electric, allowing 75% of city delivery vehicles in all 1,000,000+ cities and other special cities designated by the MoEF&CC to be electric within the next ten years.
It has advised zero carbon shipping and promoting methanol and ammonia as potential replacement fuels.
Regarding sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), it was suggested to promote methanol and ammonia as alternative fuels and create port hubs for bunkering ammonia. In the short and medium term, ethanol blending may also be investigated. For the purpose of increasing the efficiency of the SAF value chain, relevant organisations and academic institutions may concentrate on the R&D of novel indigenous feedstocks and processing technologies.