Transport Decarbonisation Index (TDI)
Towards net-zero emissions by 2050
Overview
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) and individual experts (Lewis M. Fulton, Jacob Teter and Pierpaolo Cazzola).
This research is funded by UKAID through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office under the HVT Applied Research Programme, managed by DT Global. The activity runs from October 2023 to January 2025.
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.
Key findings
There is a strong increase in scientific literature on indicator assessments of surface transport, but the focus is mostly on Asia and Europe and there are few efforts on Africa.
The State-of-Knowledge report about surface transport indexes shows that stakeholder engagement is critical to ensure relevance and ownership.
A review of selected indexes, tracking platforms, and databases shows that the Transport Decarbonisation Index needs to be responsive to the needs and availability of information in the target countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The State-of-Knowledge report identifies that transparency, robustness, credibility, collaboration, fitness for purpose, and refinement are fundamental principles and quality criteria for the Transport Decarbonisation Index.
The State-of-Knowledge report suggests the potential approach and dimensions for an indicator assessment of surface transport decarbonisation. It could include assessments related to the current status, actions and readiness of countries for decarbonising transport by 2050.