India’s net-zero pathway will not be shaped by urban electric cars alone—it will be shaped just as decisively by what moves on its highways. Long-haul freight, the backbone of industrial and consumer supply chains, remains deeply dependent on diesel even as freight demand is set to surge alongside economic growth. Yet policy attention to freight decarbonisation remains fragmented and underdeveloped.
The challenge is no longer whether India must green its freight ecosystem, but whether it can do so in a manner that strengthens energy security, industrial competitiveness, and supply chain resilience rather than undermining them. This demands a shift from viewing freight decarbonisation as a narrow transport issue to treating it as a strategic national infrastructure and industrial policy priority—one that sits at the intersection of climate ambition, trade competitiveness, and long-term economic planning.
Transport accounts for around one-sixth of India’s energy-related CO₂ emissions and is also a major contributor to ambient air pollution. Within the sector, road transport is responsible for about 94% of the total emissions, followed by civil aviation (4%), railways (1%), and waterborne navigation (1%). The sector accounts for roughly 12% of the total final energy consumption, largely driven by oil and gas. Recent developments in West Asia have highlighted the sector’s vulnerability, as the country imports nearly 85% of its crude oil needs, underscoring the energy security risks of transport fuel dependence.
While India has increasingly focused on electric mobility for urban passenger transport, long-haul freight cannot remain a peripheral issue if India is to achieve transport energy resilience and its net-zero goals.
Heavy-duty trucks form the backbone of the economy. They transport coal to power plants, cement to construction sites, food to cities, and finished goods to ports. As GDP grows and Atmanirbhar Bharat strengthens domestic manufacturing, freight demand will inevitably rise. Yet the sector remains overwhelmingly diesel-dependent, and trucks typically remain operational for well over a decade.
Studies indicate that freight service demand will grow five times from nearly 2,000 billion tonne-kilometres (tkm) in 2020 to more than 10,000 billion tkm by 2050. If freight emissions expand unchecked, the eventual transition could become abrupt and economically disruptive. The real policy challenge is therefore not whether to decarbonise freight, but how to sequence the shift pragmatically – moving from business as usual to cleaner sources of energy, and ultimately to deep decarbonisation.
Regulatory certainty beyond fragmented pilots
Beyond pilots, a clear, long-term regulatory signal is needed. Investors will not commit serious capital if policy remains uncertain.
India needs progressive fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles, evolving into carbon intensity norms over time. It must also signal a phased adoption pathway for zero-emission trucks and integrate freight into the emerging carbon market. Close coordination across ministries handling transport, highways, power, renewable energy, and electric mobility, along with NITI Aayog, will be critical for coherent policy and regulation. Without this clarity, investments will remain tentative, risking stranded assets as competing technologies emerge without a clear roadmap.
Currently, multiple ministries promote EVs, biofuels, CNG, hydrogen, and hybrids – each with separate policies and targets. A unified transport policy covering freight and passenger movement across urban and long-distance segments, and spanning electricity, LNG, CNG, hydrogen, and biofuels, along with vehicle and safety standards, would reduce uncertainty and avoid costly sunk investments.
Dedicated green corridors and not just green vehicles
Long-haul freight will not decarbonise vehicle by vehicle; it can decarbonise corridor by corridor. India should identify high-density freight routes and systematically develop them as green freight corridors. Along these routes, electrified truck fleets can be supported by megawatt-scale charging infrastructure, coupled with solar plants, and green hydrogen refuelling hubs. At the same time, freight planning must integrate electrified rail corridors and waterways to lower overall carbon intensity.
Existing investments provide a strong starting point. The work of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India is already reshaping rail logistics. Linking road freight decarbonisation with rail expansion and waterways is not just transport reform; it is infrastructure planning aligned with long-term low carbon industrial strategy.
Technology-agnostic, but carbon-accountable
While decarbonising transport will require the rapid development of green mobility corridors, a proper planning to integrate hydrogen, electric mobility, and energy storage at scale will be key to its success. Battery-electric trucks could be considered for medium-haul routes, while hydrogen may serve longer distances. Bio-CNG and LNG could play transitional roles. Furthermore, all these co-located vectors must be digitally integrated to manage peak loads, ensure reliability, and enable low- carbon mobility.
However, policy should avoid prematurely picking winners. Instead, the government should establish declining lifecycle carbon benchmarks aligned with the net zero trajectory. The objective is cost-effective decarbonisation based on life-cycle assessment rather than just cost comparisons. Green fuel should be used where it delivers the highest climate value, not indiscriminately across all applications.
Innovative finance to speed up transition
Even the best policy signals will fall short without financial innovation. Zero-emission trucks currently cost more than diesel. India’s trucking industry is highly fragmented and dominated by small operators who have limited access to affordable capital.
To accelerate adoption, India will need credit guarantee mechanisms that reduce lender risks, blended finance instruments that lower the cost of capital and viability gap funding for early green freight corridors. Freight decarbonisation must be embedded within the green finance and carbon market ecosystem. Without deliberate financial support, adoption will remain slow and confined to niche segments.
Climate action as energy security and trade strategy
The freight transition is not solely about emissions. It is also about energy security and economic competitiveness. Reducing diesel consumption lowers India’s import dependence and improves energy resilience. At the same time, scaling domestic manufacturing of batteries, electrolysers and fuel cells strengthens industrial capacity. As global markets increasingly impose climate-related standards and carbon border measures, green freight will eventually become a supply chain requirement. Early movers can turn regulatory compliance into competitive advantage.
The roadmap ahead
For India’s 2070 pathway, long-haul freight must shift from incremental efficiency improvements to structural transformation. Though India’s per capita emissions from the transport sector are the lowest among G20 countries, it is prudent to keep the emissions low with clear timelines aligned with the NetZero goal. Modal rebalancing toward rail and waterways can significantly reduce emissions intensity. Segment-specific zero-emission targets for trucks and logistics fleets can provide direction to industry. Infrastructure for charging and alternative fuels must expand rapidly along freight corridors. Financial and market reforms must reduce investment risk in zero-emission technologies.
India’s climate ambition will not be decided only in solar power plants, renewable energy parks or electric mobility in cities. It will also be determined on its highways. If long-haul freight becomes central to climate, energy and industrial strategy today, the transition can be orderly, competitive and growth-enhancing. If it remains peripheral, the eventual adjustment will be far more difficult and costly.
Dr. Debajit Palit is the Centre Head of the Centre for Climate Change and Energy Transition at Chintan Research Foundation. Views expressed are personal.
