6. Low-Carbon Pathways for Urban Development and Mobility in India

By 2030 India’s urban population is projected to almost double, adding another 200 million people to its towns and cities. In the context of a changing climate, this growing urbanization poses a cause for concern for the country’s carbon footprint. Cities, in their consumption of energy as electricity or fuel in transportation, are a significant source of carbon emissions, responsible for up to 75% of global carbon emissions. With India’s urbanization still at a nascent stage, there is a real opportunity to steer the projected growth away from high-carbon lock-ins and towards a low-carbon pathway. This paper examines opportunities for low-carbon growth in the context of urban development and urban mobility in the country and also illustrates the larger framework within which the aspect of urban mobility is embedded and the multiple pathways available for attaining low-carbon goals in the sector.