India should ban diesel powered vehicles in cities with over a million people and highly polluted towns by 2027 as part of the nation’s green transition, according to a report commissioned by the oil ministry.
“By 2030, no city buses should be added which are not electric…diesel buses for city transport should not be added from 2024 onwards,” the panel said in a report posted on the oil ministry’s website.
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has setup a Energy Transition Advisory Committee, headed by former oil secretary Tarun Kapoor. It is not clear if the petroleum ministry will seek cabinet approval to implement the recommendations of its panel.
The Energy Transition Advisory Committee has also called for doubling the share of grid power in the national energy basket to 40 per cent by 2035.
The advisory committee has further recommended the government should set up a high-powered group of ministers supervising petroleum, coal, power and renewables. The committee believes that this setup would be able to coordinate with all the stakeholders and facilitate the transition towards green alternative fuels.
Since the industrial and power sectors are a key source of India’s emissions, renewable generation, electrification of heating and energy efficiency are seen as key pathways to a green transition. However, the nation has an abundance of coal and it may not be possible to discontinue its use totally for the next 15 to 20 years, according to the report.
India, one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, wants to produce 40% of its electricity from renewables to achieve its 2070 net zero goal.India aims to raise the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 form 6.2% now.
