As city populations grow, the transportation of physical goods is an increasingly important lynchpin in the global supply chain. In 2020, road freight emitted over 2.2 billion tons of carbon, two times more than air, sea, and rail freight combined.

Reducing freight emissions in rapidly growing regions like Latin America and India presents a challenge and opportunity, all while considering  access to clean and reliable electricity, nascent infrastructure, and credit worthiness. In the most densely populated Latin American cities, road freight emissions are estimated to double by 2050. India’s urban freight industry is projected to grow 140% by 2030.

The Climate Pledge committed $10 million to C40 Cities, a network of nearly 100 mayors committed to limiting global warming to 1.5°C, to launch the Laneshift initiative, which aims to reduce carbon emissions from freight in rapidly urbanizing cities in Latin America and India, such as Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Bengaluru and Mumbai. In Latin America, Laneshift is laying the groundwork for 100% zero-emission freight sales by 2030 through electric vehicle deployment and charging infrastructure. In India, Laneshift will launch an EV freight corridor project between Bengaluru and Chennai to demonstrate how to mobilize public and private resources to develop and scale EV highways.

Laneshift will also provide a roadmap to help other cities scale-up EV freight. Aggregating demand, and incentivizing cleaner supply chains are hard and complex, but these challenges aren’t insurmountable. The collaboration exhibited by The Climate Pledge and C40 Cities through Laneshift proves that.