Rapid growth of the transportation sector in Asia has led to significant CO₂ emissions. China's transport sector accounts for 30% of the world’s total emissions from fuel combustion. Together with India and Vietnam, the three countries emitted about 1 metric gigaton of CO2e in 2014. Rapid economic growth combined with urbanization and motorization have increased traffic congestion and air pollution. A decarbonization path for the transport sector in these countries and Asia broadly is essential to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2050.

The NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) regional initiative aims at a holistic approach to decarbonize the transport sector in China, India, Vietnam and additional countries in the region. This includes the development of a coherent strategy for efficient policy approaches that is coordinated between various sector ministries, civil society and the private sector.

NDC-TIA is a joint program of WRI and six other organizations that looks to enhance low-carbon transport ambition and decarbonization targets in Asia. The project is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

In each partner country, the consortium supports the design of stakeholder processes and the development of select climate protection measures. In this way, partners are supported in making their sectoral contributions to the achievement of current nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement and in raising their ambitions for long-term strategies and 2025 NDCs.

The NDC-TIA Council for Decarbonising Transport in Asia, consisting of experts and practitioners from Asia, recently published a report, The Path to Zero: A Vision for Decarbonised Transport in Asia, laying out the vision and next steps for transforming Asia’s transport sector.