SLOCAT is a proud partner of the NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) which provides policy and technical support for partners across Asia to shift the transport paradigm and decarbonise mobility for every person, in every sector. NDC TIA supports China, India and Vietnam. On the regional and global level, NDC TIA reaches out to additional Southeast Asia countries to share lessons learned, increase discourse on decarbonising transport and promote efficient, multi-stakeholder approaches coordinated between government ministries, civil society, and the private sector. Funded by the International Climate Initiative of Germany, NDC TIA is jointly delivered by Germany’s development agency GIZ, Agora Verkehrswende, International Council on Clean Transportation, International Transport Forum, REN21, SLOCAT and World Resources Institute.
How does climate action tackle freight transport and logistics? Assessment of China, India and Viet Nam in comparison to Asia
Freight is the fastest-growing source of transport emissions, yet it is still too often overlooked in national climate plans. This interactive dashboard, developed for the NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA), shows how China, India and Viet Nam are addressing freight transport and logistics in their climate commitments, and how their ambition compares with Asia as a whole and the global picture.
The dashboard draws on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Long-Term Strategies (LTS) and Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), with a focus on the third generation of NDCs. The main content is organised in two tabs:
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Overview: This tab shows how freight transport features in climate action across Asia and globally, including targets, mitigation and adaptation actions, and international initiatives.
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National Ambition: Here, country-by-country breakdowns for China, India and Viet Nam, covering submitted documents, freight targets, actions by category and mode, and national logistics strategies.
The findings reveal where freight ambition is taking shape, from electrification and low-carbon fuels to modal shift and infrastructure, and where critical gaps remain, such as limited sector-specific targets and little attention to adaptation and resilience.
Developed by SLOCAT with technical support from GIZ and WRI for the , which is supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Government. Data is sourced from the NDC Transport Tracker, maintained by GIZ and SLOCAT, and reflects submissions as of 1 September 2026.
Key Messages
- 31 of 35 Asian NDCs address freight transport, mostly through electrification, infrastructure improvements and low-carbon fuels.
- 7 of 33 NDCs worldwide with a transport GHG mitigation target are from Asia, but none of the three NDC-TIA countries have set such a target in their most recent NDC.
- 20 of 35 third-generation NDCs in Asia include freight-relevant transport adaptation actions. Among the NDC-TIA countries, only Viet Nam features transport adaptation actions.
- Climate action on freight transport in Asia focuses largely on electrification, transport system improvements and low-carbon fuels. China, India and Viet Nam seem to focus on vehicle electrification, while Asia overall focuses more on infrastructure.
Highlights of NDC-TIA’ Work since 2020
The NDC Transport Initiative in Asia Learning Journey aims to leverage the experiences of partner countries to transition from shared challenges to unified policy, finance, and technical solutions. It is a collection of different while complementary gatherings, culminating at NDC-TIA’’s conference in June 2024.
Under WRI’s leadership, SLOCAT contributed to the report “Visioning to Implementation”, which examines how China, India, and Vietnam are translating their climate commitments into national policymaking and leveraging them to accelerate transport decarbonisation. It also recommends seven strategies for the next round of NDCs to be submitted by the countries by 2025.
In light of India’s G20 presidency in 2023, and with emerging economies at the helm of the intergovernmental forum in 2022 (Indonesia), 2024 (Brazil), and 2025 (South Africa), this report seeks to support global discussions surrounding sustainable transport and the effort to achieve the goals stipulated in international climate accords, especially the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Declaration. The report was first presented at a G20 working meeting in Panaji, the capital of the Indian state of Goa, on 19 July 2023, together with the public policy think tank of the Government of India NITI Aayog.The document is an update of the report “Towards Decarbonising Transport 2018. A Stocktake on Sectoral Ambition in the G20”, published by Agora Verkehrswende, GIZ, and REN21. A consortium of seven leading research and international cooperation institutes, under the umbrella of the NDC Transport Initiative Asia, has contributed to the new edition of the report. Agora Verkehrswende completed the work with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), SLOCAT, WRI, ICCT, ITF, and REN21. The project was supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
NDC-TIA at the 14th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM14)
The CEM14/MI-8 side event, Accelerating the energy transition in Asia’s transport through sustainable and equitable e-mobility, brought together government representatives and practitioners from across the NDC-TIA and Leadership Group for Clean Transport in Asia (LG-CTA) network to discuss the development of transport decarbonization pathways and strategies in Asian countries. It was an enriching experience, with insightful discussions, impactful presentations, and meaningful networking opportunities. The roundtable included representatives from various organizations, including NITI Aayog, CESL, NREL, Department of Science and Technology (DST), India, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Kingdom of the Netherlands, DHL Group, OMI foundation, Agora Verkehrswende, ICCT, ITF, SLOCAT Partnership, WRI India, and GIZ.
SLOCAT supported the 2024 regional conference of the NDC Transport Initiative for Asia alongside our fellow consortium partners:
- At the session on “Accelerating the Transition to Fossil-Free Transport” by SLOCAT and REN21, we explored ways to enhance coordination between the transport and energy sectors to break barriers for this transition.
- At the session on “Improving Access to Climate Finance for Sustainable and Low-Carbon Transport” by WRI, we emphasised the need to reverse the structural problems in economic appraisals for transport that prevent investments in public transport, walking and cycling at scale.
- At the session on “Promoting Equity towards Sustainable Transport” by Safetipin and GIZ, we presented how fossil-free land transport is also key to unlocking an equitable and just transition.
- At the session on “Scaling Impact through Industry Transformation” by Agora Verkehrswende, we facilitated discussions on how to prioritise transformative innovations for supply chains and circularity, the mass market for electric vehicles, charging infrastructure and grid integration.