Towards Zero Emission Transport in China | Work in Progress 2021: NDC-Transport Initiative for Asia Project

About NDC Transport Initiative for Asia

Globally, climate change is progressing and increasingly impacting the ecosystems and the livelihood of people. The transport sector has become a major source of air pollution around the world, especially in Asian countries. To reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, ambitious measures are needed to mitigate emissions.

The “Nationally Determined Contribution - Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA)” program, funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI), is a joint project of seven organisations and will engage in China, India, and Vietnam. It aims at promoting a comprehensive approach on decarbonizing transport. The key project goal for the China component is to support the Chinese partners on national and sub-national levels in carrying out the essential technical research and capacity building needed for medium- and long-term emission reduction strategies and major emission reduction policies for greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air pollutants in the transport sector. To achieve the goal, the China component provides capacity building, policy exchange and personnel training to Chinese policy makers and partners. With the strategic guidance from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China (MEE), the China component will be jointly implemented by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and Agora Verkehrswende, in close collaboration with the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province, and Chinese domestic research agencies including the Vehicle Emission Control Center (VECC) and the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) of MEE.

Project Outcome

Since the start of the project, the China component of the NDC-TIA program has conducted in-depth collaboration with our local partners and has achieved fruitful results aligned with the development of China’s mid- and long-term GHG and air pollutant emission reduction strategies and major emission reduction policies, and the demands of the MEE with regards to the project implementation and orientation of technical research and capacity building on both national and provincial levels.

Research

Support was provided to Chinese partners on the technical research needed for future elaboration of major policy research on air pollutants reduction and GHG emission mitigation in the transport sector. Key deliverables as listed below:

Opportunities and Pathway to Decarbonize China’s Transportation Sector during the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan Period and Beyond   Implementing organization: ICCT   The study quantifies the GHG emission reduction potentials of a suite of clean transportation strategies to meet China’s near- and long-term carbon peaking and neutrality targets for the transportation sector. The multi-strategy analysis encompasses vehicle efficiency, emissions regulations, electrification, modal shift policies, fuel standards and more, so that each agency will benefit from this analysis to determine targets within their authority areas.   Download the PDF file of this paper:

Towards zero emissions: Overview on China’s Climate Pathway and Implications to the Transport Sector   Implementing organization: GIZ   This paper provides a general description of the role of the transport sector in achieving China’s carbon peaking and neutrality goals. In addition, it aims to foster debate on the policies, technologies, measures, and partnerships needed to achieve those objectives. This discussion is not exhaustive, however. It focuses on just a few approaches and measures that can help achieve China’s targets.   Download the PDF file of this paper:

Decarbonizing China’s Road Transport Sector: Strategies toward Carbon Neutrality   Implementing organization: WRI   This study examines how China’s road transport sector might be decarbonized by modelling. This study aims to inform China road transport sector’s emission reduction target setting, identification of cost-effective measures that deliver on the sectoral emission reduction targets and identification of decarbonization measures with air pollution reduction co-benefits.   Download the PDF file of this paper: