The 70 million citizens of India’s national capital region (NCR) and its abutting districts frequently choke on air pollution. It’s not just the visible, seasonal phenomenon caused by farmers burning stubble, but a year-round problem for which the transport sector is commonly cited as the highest contributor.

The government is struggling to impose effective regulations to reduce overall emissions. One contention is the equity of solutions: Producers of smaller petrol vehicles are ranged against producers of larger electric vehicles (EVs). Another is the overall environmental impact of electric versus petrol vehicles. How the authorities view these contentions could be indicated in the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency-3 (CAFE-3) norms, expected to be finalised soon. Additionally, the ongoing energy crisis due to the conflict in West Asia brings to fore the urgent need to look inwards, at our own strengths and promote green alternatives such as solar, biofuels and green hydrogen.

The environmental impact of a product at its point of use is a small fraction of the overall environmental impact of the system that produces and services the product. Environmental scientist Vaclav Smil has computed the total consumption of non-renewable material and energy resources in modern transportation, food production, and other industrial systems. He explains that electric cars cannot be better than internal combustion engine (ICE) cars until all the energy required to produce them and provide power to their batteries is produced from renewable sources. Till the time the power........

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