Transport Decarbonisation Index: How It Supports LMICs in Achieving Sustainability, evidences from our new scientific article.
SLOCAT, UEMI, Lew Fulton, Jacob Teter and Pierpaolo Cazolla have published a scientific article introducing the Transport Decarbonisation Index (TDI) to the academic community. The TDI is a tool designed to help low and middle-income countries (LMICs) transition to sustainable transport. Published in Sustainability, the academic paper shares insights on the TDI, its benchmarking capabilities, and the country benchmarking to 12 countries across Africa and Asia.
Recent years have seen a growing realisation that the transport sector globally must transform to mitigate climate change and improve overall sustainability to help reach climate goals within the Paris Agreement. A new scientific article, titled “Benchmarking Sustainable, Low-Carbon Transport in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Through a Novel Indicator Assessment,” sheds light on one such effort to help policymakers navigate this journey. Published in MDPI Sustainability (open access) by SLOCAT, Lew Fulton, Jacob Teter and Pierpaolo Cazolla from ITS-Davis European Transport and Energy Research Centre, Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI), it reports on the creation and testing of the Transport Decarbonisation Index (TDI), an innovative framework designed to guide countries towards cleaner, more efficient, and fairer transport systems.
A Fresh Approach to Measuring Transport Sustainability
Authored by a team of experts working under the UK-funded High Volume Transport (HVT) programme, this publication addresses a significant knowledge gap: many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not have the capacity or data to systematically measure their transport sectors’ progress towards decarbonisation. The paper offers a detailed explanation of how the TDI was conceptualised, drawing on a four-phase methodology that combined robust literature reviews with practical testing in 12 LMICs across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The study identifies 30 indicators, grouped into eight “dimensions,” which collectively capture the many facets of sustainable, low-carbon transport. From per capita greenhouse gas emissions to the availability of public transport, these indicators give policymakers a broad but in-depth look at where their country stands. In addition, the paper emphasises that the TDI links performance data with non-prescriptive policy guidance, highlighting specific areas where focused actions could make the greatest difference.
The Transport Decarbonisation Index (TDI)
At the heart of this scientific study is the TDI itself. Developed under the HVT research programme funded by UK Aid from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the TDI is now openly accessible for use. Policymakers, researchers, and practitioners can visit this resource to explore its reports, tools, and guidance.
In essence, the TDI offers LMICs:
- A Data-Driven Overview: By consolidating diverse, internationally recognised databases, the index gives countries a snapshot of their performance in decarbonising road and rail transport. This includes GHG emissions, adoption of clean technologies and levels of public transport provision.
- Benchmarking and Mutual Learning: The TDI allows countries to compare their results, identifying strengths to build on and gaps needing urgent attention. Its creators stress that it is not intended to “name and shame,” but rather to foster collective efforts and fresh policy insights.
- Policy Inspiration: Alongside the scoring, the TDI suggests tailored, though non-binding, measures to help countries move the dial on their lowest-scoring dimensions. This might include incentivising electric vehicles, boosting public transport fleets or removing inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.
- Alignment with Climate Goals: The TDI framework is directly linked to the Paris Agreement targets and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), encouraging a path that not only cuts emissions, but also elevates economic development, health, equity and resilience, while offering data and capacity building to countries and stakeholders, before entering the coming first-ever UN Decade on Sustainable Transport 2026-2035
Country Benchmarking
To demonstrate the real-life impact of the TDI, the study examines its pilot phase conducted in 12 countries, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The results showed how different economic and geographic contexts shape individual transport challenges.
Sri Lanka, in particular, scored well in several dimensions, showcasing an ambitious approach to both reducing emissions and improving public transport. The country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) reflects its commitment to decarbonisation targets, which is mirrored in the TDI’s governance dimension and its relatively robust policies on renewable energy use. This pilot experience underlines the TDI’s practical utility for steering targeted policy interventions.
Addressing Data Gaps for Greater Impact
One central finding from the paper is that data limitations remain a major bottleneck. In many LMICs, comprehensive information, especially for freight transport and informal transport services, is scarce. To make meaningful progress, national and regional stakeholders are encouraged to work collaboratively on collecting, harmonising and publicising their transport data. Only with more reliable inputs can countries harness the full benefits of the TDI in guiding planning and investment decisions.
A Call to Action for Decision-Makers
The authors emphasise that while the TDI is not a standalone solution, it serves as a critical foundation for informed policy decisions and strategic transport decarbonisation efforts. By pinpointing a country’s key transport shortcomings, the index opens the door to more targeted policies, more transparent financing flows and stronger regional cooperation. Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the study argues, is a shared goal that depends on mutual learning and data-driven decision-making.
For policymakers looking to refine their decarbonisation strategies, the TDI’s open access reports, methodology, and user guide offer a structured way forward. The diagnostic insights, combined with customised policy recommendations, can help countries fast-track transport-related climate actions while bolstering economic and social outcomes.
Explore the TDI further
The Transport Decarbonisation Index is available here. The scientific paper, also open access, can be read via this link. By consulting these resources, decision-makers and development partners alike can advance the shared ambition of a fossil-free, more resilient transport future, driven by reliable data, constructive collaboration and a unified focus on sustainability.