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The impacts of climate change are already wreaking havoc on ecosystems and economies. To meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and for a chance of limiting global warming to less than 1.5°C, governments worldwide will need to use every possible policy tool to reduce emissions from transportation. Neither vehicle electrification nor mode shift is sufficient alone: the world needs both.

In The Compact City Scenario – Electrified, researchers from ITDP and the University of California, Davis (with support from the ClimateWorks Foundation) have found that India’s Paris Agreement commitments will require both electric vehicles and a modal shift. Electrifying vehicles and shifting toward compact cities built on walking, cycling, and public transport will each have profound positive impacts. However, even if both electrification and modal shift occur at the fastest possible rate, it is only by combining them that India can reduce emissions to a level consistent with holding global warming below 1.5°C.