On this World Environment Day, let us revisit the famous saying – “Where there is kindness, there is goodness. And when there is goodness, then magic happens!”

Now, applying the above in the realm of environment would make for some compelling reading.

It would ideally read something like this- “When we are kind to the environment around us, then we ca. expect goodness. And with goodness, we can add magic to the living environs!”

Having said that, while it is also true that there is no magic wand available to mankind with which to suddenly change the environment for the better, some simple but effective steps can, nonetheless, be adopted with the aim of striving to make our living environment better. 

This also brings us to the point that never before has the need to adapt to electric or green mobility been as relevant as one finds today.

Perhaps we realise the need for this more specifically since today is World Environment Day. 

Hard facts

But first up, a startling fact that perhaps most of us have been aware of but done ever so little about. 

Focusing our attention on the need to adopt to green mobility here in India in a more comprehensive sense points us to what is akin to an elephant in the room. 

Some telling numbers

As per the 2020 numbers, the CO2 emissions in the country stood at a rattling 2500 MT. 

However, that is just the tip of the iceberg; according to the World Bank, the level of CO2 emissions one finds today has in no uncertain terms been higher than they have been in 3 million years. 

Now, while we understand that for the sustenance of all mankind, change can’t be brought in the space of a single day and that there is no alternate Planet B around, what India as a nation ought to do is to apply more basic albeit consistent measures with which it can alleviate the emperor of all environmental maladies: pollution. 

Change is possible 

Make no mistake, in 2023, India was the third most polluted country, with regard to air pollution on the planet. 

Against that narrative, the need for an overall reduction in carbon footprint becomes paramount, unarguably more significant than ever. 

The need to promote Electric Vehicles is becoming more of a cause than an instant remedy. Would you not agree? 

World Environment Day serves as a critical reminder to the collective conscience of our nation to protect and safeguard our planet and while much of India lives and operates in urban centres, the bustling contributors to the country’s GDP, it is about time that green urban mobility got the lift it deserves. 

Having said that, here is something that would make for some cogent observation. 

The time to act is now!

There should be no misunderstanding whatsoever that it is none other than the automotive industry of the country that is responsible for a significant portion of the total emissions. That said, road transport on its own contributes- approximately- three-quarters of these emissions and that is not all: but over 15% of the overall global CO2 emissions. 

That is precisely where EV adoption presents itself as more than some random stop-gap arrangement but as a unique measure. 

For as long as we embrace electric vehicles, we shall be doing our best towards addressing health, energy security as well as environmental challenges, all of which are pressing!  

Embracing EVs today

More and more businesses across India’s wide geography are adopting EVs as their mainstream mode of commute in a healthy bid to operate in a climate-positive mode. 

Furthermore, EVs also help significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions; electric vehicles, after all, are a sharp measure towards achieving the net-zero goal. 

According to a recent report published by Counterpoint Research, as per the 2024 numbers, EV sales are rising by 66 per cent in India. It shows that India is ready for its urgent bid towards decarbonisation. 

In FY 2021-23, the rise in sales of EVs in our country was measured to be somewhere around 26 per cent. 

There is an unbridled sense of optimism when it comes to a greater level of EV adoption.  

Perhaps somewhere, we are all realising that the need to safeguard our planet and ‘green’ it is both a beautiful as well as an urgent need! 

And what could be better than taking note of that this World Environment day?