Autobayng News Team
The study models a scenario where all new vehicles are zero-emission by 2045 could significantly boost air quality and public health.“>
Accelerating the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) could prevent around 1.7 million premature deaths in India by 2050, according to a study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), highlighting the health burden of road transport emissions.
The report, Health Benefits of Zero-Emission Transport through 2050, estimates that road transport pollution caused 90,000 premature deaths and 15,300 new childhood asthma cases in India in 2024. India accounted for 13 per cent of global premature deaths linked to road transport emissions, it said.
The study models a scenario in which all new vehicles sold become zero-emission by 2045 and says faster electrification of road transport could significantly improve air quality and public health.
Delhi-NCR bears the highest burden
The National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for 8,100 premature deaths, or 9 per cent of the national total, and 3,500 childhood asthma cases, representing 23 per cent of India’s total in 2024, despite housing only about 5 per cent of the country’s population.
The report also found that heavy-duty vehicles, though a small share of the vehicle fleet, produced 79 per cent of road transport nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and 64 per cent of PM2.5 emissions in 2024, underscoring the need to accelerate freight electrification.
“The National Capital Region accounts for nearly a quarter of India’s road transport-attributable childhood asthma cases while housing only about 5 per cent of the population,” said Lingzhi Jin, Senior Researcher at ICCT and co-author of the study.
Amit Bhatt, Managing Director, ICCT India, said electrification remains the only way to eliminate tailpipe emissions entirely, while Moorthy Nair, Researcher at ICCT, said faster adoption of zero-emission vehicles must be complemented by the phased retirement of older, high-emitting vehicles to achieve meaningful reductions in transport-related pollution.
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