Transport Decarbonisation Index (TDI)
Towards net-zero emissions by 2050
SLOCAT and the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI) are collaborating on the development of a Transport Decarbonisation Index (TDI) to assess progress and barriers, enabling evidence-based decisions on emissions reduction in surface transport for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The TDI will be instrumental for policymakers in developing targeted emission reduction actions and supporting LMICs in fulfilling their climate pledges, with an ultimate goal of achieving net zero by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Beyond diagnosing decarbonisation efforts, the TDI also serves as a progress tracker, indicating whether more stringent measures may be necessary in the future.
Objective
The project’s main objective is to assist Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) in Africa and South Asia in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in surface transport by providing a diagnostic toolkit called the TDI. The TDI assesses a country’s preparedness towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, enabling comparisons with other nations and tracking long-term progress.
This tool helps LMICs better understand which measures are most effective for their specific circumstances, taking into account factors like development status and transport system characteristics. The TDI not only diagnoses decarbonisation but also measures progress and indicates if more stringent measures are required.
Approach
The project involves four phases, beginning with a comprehensive assessment of existing knowledge and tools related to transport decarbonisation. It then progresses to the development of the TDI methodology, pilot testing in LMICs, and, finally, the dissemination of findings. The ultimate goal is to disseminate the project’s insights in an accessible and engaging manner to encourage the use of the TDI by decision-makers and practitioners in more countries.
State-of-Knowledge Report
For the Transport Decarbonisation Index project, the project consortium developed a State-of-Knowledge report that provides an extensive overview of existing scientific and grey literature, indexes, and initiatives relevant about surface transport indicator assessments. This State-of-Knowledge Report, titled “Towards the Development of a Surface Transport Decarbonisation Index for Low- and Middle-Income Countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa” provides the basis for the development of a methodology for a surface TDI which is envisioned to be a diagnostic tool designed to assist policymakers in LMICs – particularly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa – towards formulating targeted emission reduction strategies.
This report investigates the following: the importance of surface transport in achieving decarbonisation in the transport sector; commitments and actions towards decarbonising surface transport; review of methods and elements that are important in developing such indexes; and review of similar indexes as well as related indicator initiatives, databases and portals.
About the project
SLOCAT has been awarded the High Volume Transport (HVT) research project on the Transport Decarbonisation Index (TDI) (HVT/057). The consortium partners for this activity are the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI) with support from individual experts.
This research is funded by UKAID through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office under the HVT Applied Research Programme, managed by DT Global from October 2023 to January 2025.