21 hours ago
Vehicles account for 36% of CO2 emissions in A'bad, 53% in Rajkot
Ahmedabad: In Gujarat, vehicles are now third highest pollutants after industrial energy consumption and public electricity generation. The recently-launched online dashboard Gujarat Climate Action Tracker (GCAT) indicates that the road transport sector accounted for 13% of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2023, third highest only after industrial energy consumption (19%) and public electricity generation (17.5%).
In major districts like Ahmedabad and Rajkot, vehicles are a bigger villain. Vehicular fumes accounted for 36% and 52% of the CO2 emissions, respectively compared to 4.7% and 11.2% for industrial energy's share for these districts. For Vadodara and Surat, the share of transport sector was 23% and 13.5%, respectively.
Exponential growth in transport sector's contribution to CO2 can be ascertained from the fact that between 2005 and 2023, its volume has increased from 6.7 mtCO2e (million metric ton CO2 equivalent) to 32.2, showing nearly five-time rise.
In comparison, industrial energy emissions increased three times from 15.8 to 45.8 and public electricity generation increased by 13% from 37.2 to 42.2 mtCO2e, indicate the data.
The GCAT was launched on World Environment Day celebrated on June 5 and is termed the first such initiative in India to have sub-state level climate parameters. It is developed by the Climate Change Department and Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) of the state govt with technical collaboration of Vasudha Foundation, said officials.
The district-level emissions were higher in industrial districts such as Kutch and Jamnagar with 36,920 ktCO2e (kiloton CO2 equivalent) and 24,591 respectively. These districts thus also had higher per capita emissions at 14.9 tons and 14.7 tons CO2e respectively.
The state govt officials said that on the other hand, the state has managed to reduce emissions by 72% compared to 2005 baseline GDP of the state. From installed capacity of 7,172 MW for renewable energy in state in 2015-16, it has reached 33,393 MW in 2024-25 with projects across various districts of Gujarat, they added.
"Gujarat leads the country in both rooftop solar installation and wind power capacity. The GCAT will deepen local ownership and planning for climate change mitigation," said Rini Dutt, associate director (climate policy), Vasudha Foundation.
"In Gujarat's net-zero journey, every district will have a vital role to play. It is important to recognise that progress will vary – some districts may reach net-zero sooner, while others with hard-to-abate sectors may take longer."
