‘India must resist hybrid cars and adopt EVs’: Amitabh Kant

He was speaking at the release of a report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)

India must resist the temptation of intermediary technologies like hybrid cars and instead leapfrog directly into adopting electric vehicles (EVs), much like it did during the smartphone revolution, said India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on World Environment Day on Thursday.

Amitabh Kant during the Urban Adda 25 conclave organized by ICCT, aimed to unite young voices, experts, and leaders to forge sustainable urban futures. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

“Opting for hybrids is like returning to typewriters in an era of artificial intelligence and smartphones. We should never do that,” said Kant, the former CEO of NITI Aayog.

He was speaking at the release of a report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and IIT Roorkee that assesses life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

While transport contributes about 14% to Delhi’s pollution load, Kant emphasised the city’s multi-source pollution crisis. From stubble burning and industrial emissions to power generation and the widespread domestic use of traditional methods of cooking and heating such as biomass or dungcake burning during winter, Delhi faces a compound challenge.

“From October to December, Delhi becomes the most polluted capital city in the world. Over 80% of the population breathes air worse than India’s national ambient air quality standards. It cuts life expectancy by over six years,” he said.

He advocated for a winter-specific government scheme for universal LPG coverage to reduce pollution from biomass burning in homes. “Universal LPG access in Delhi-NCR during winter could be transformative,” he said.

Kant said that around 30% of air pollution in Delhi is caused by power plants and industries in NCR. He said that of 12 power plants in the region, only seven out of 36 units have flue gas torrefaction and dry sorbent injection systems installed. “Of these, 75% of these are run by NTPC. That must change,” he said.

Kant added that 4,068 brick kilns in the region contribute nearly 8% of pollution. “These must be converted to zigzag technology,” he said, calling for a broader shift toward electric boilers for small and medium industries, integrated with rooftop solar.