Road to Clean Air: Policy and Technology Solutions for Reducing Vehicle Emissions

Winters in Delhi NCR have become synonymous with deteriorated air quality. As temperatures begin to dip, the air quality in the national capital also declines triggering the implementation of restrictive measures under Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).  

Among several sources of pollution, transportation consistently emerges as a major factor in Delhi’s persistent air pollution crisis. The ICCT’s recent study  measured tailpipe emissions from over 100,000 vehicles in the NCR through remote sensing technology, reveals that exhaust emissions especially from commercial vehicles are substantially higher in real-world conditions. One of the key findings from the report was that while CNG is regarded as a cleaner fuel due to lower particulate matter emissions, it showed high NO_x emissions. While emergency measures like the GRAP are essential, these findings emphasise the need for more targeted and permanent interventions to reduce emissions from road transport.  

Low Emission Zones or LEZs, the geographically defined areas where polluting motorized vehicles are restricted can offer 70-80% reductions in particulate matter (PM) and NO_x emissions in cities. Another ICCT’s study offers the roadmap for the introduction of low-emission zones (LEZs), evaluating the potential reduction in emissions as a case study in Indian city of Pimpri-Chinchwad, Maharashtra.  

Under the India ZEV Alliance initiative, this webinar by the ICCT in partnership with ET Auto will shed light on technologies that can assist in accurate and real-time monitoring of vehicular emissions and discuss policy interventions that can effectively abate them and help in better air quality.