The Hidden Role of CNG in India’s Net-Zero 2070 Mission

The Road to Net Zero — And Why It Runs on Gas?

When India announced its Net-Zero by 2070 goal at COP26, the focus quickly turned to renewables, EVs, and hydrogen. But there’s a quieter, equally powerful player fueling that journey — CNG and its cleaner successor, Bio-CNG.

Transportation currently contributes nearly 13% of India’s total CO₂ emissions, with road vehicles accounting for 90% of that. (IEA India Energy Outlook 2025) Switching even half of India’s petrol and diesel vehicles to natural gas by 2040 could cut emissions from road transport by up to 120 million tonnes of CO₂ annually — a massive boost toward the 2070 goal.

💨 Why CNG Is the Transition Fuel India Needs

CNG, or Compressed Natural Gas, is not “perfectly green,” but it’s significantly cleaner and far more practical than fossil fuels in India’s current ecosystem.

Compared to petrol and diesel:

CO₂ emissions are 20–25% lower.

NOₓ emissions drop by 70–80%.

Particulate emissions are nearly zero.

Sulphur and smoke emissions are virtually eliminated.

These aren’t abstract numbers — they translate into millions of tonnes of avoided pollution, especially in congested cities where the air-quality index (AQI) regularly breaches safe limits.

CNG vehicles also support energy diversification, reducing dependency on crude oil imports — which currently cost India over USD 130 billion annually. (PPAC India 2025)

🌱 Bio-CNG: The Game-Changer for 2030–2050

While CNG cuts emissions, Bio-CNG (Compressed Biogas) can nearly neutralise them. Produced from organic waste — food scraps, crop residue, municipal solid waste — Bio-CNG captures methane that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere, making it a carbon-negative fuel in some scenarios.

India’s SATAT programme (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) envisions 5,000 Bio-CNG plants by 2030, producing up to 25 million tonnes per year. (MoPNG, 2025 update)

Each tonne of Bio-CNG produced avoids approximately 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent methane emissions. Scale that nationwide, and Bio-CNG alone could offset 60–70 million tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2040 — one of the largest contributions from the transport sector.

🔋 Complementing, Not Competing, with EVs and Hydrogen

EVs and hydrogen are essential for India’s long-term net-zero path, but their infrastructure, cost, and battery sourcing challenges mean mass adoption will take decades.

CNG and Bio-CNG, on the other hand:

Use existing vehicle and station networks, with over 8,340 stations already active.

Require no battery imports, supporting Make-in-India goals.

Deliver instant CO₂ reductions today, not decades later.

CNG and Bio-CNG thus bridge the critical transition gap between fossil fuel and zero-emission mobility, ensuring India’s net-zero roadmap remains both affordable and achievable.

🧭 The Numbers Behind the Impact

India’s current CNG vehicle base: ~7.5 million.

Projected CNG/Bio-CNG vehicles by 2040: 50 million+.

Estimated CO₂ reduction (transport sector, cumulative): up to 1.5 billion tonnes by 2070.

Share of natural gas in India’s energy mix (2025): 6.3%, target by 2030: 15%. (PNGRB 2025)

Each of these milestones ties directly to India’s carbon neutrality trajectory, making gas-based mobility one of the most impactful contributors outside renewables.

🌎 Why This Matters Beyond the Numbers

Net-zero isn’t just a climate goal — it’s an economic strategy. Cleaner fuels like CNG and Bio-CNG can save India billions in fuel imports, boost rural incomes through biogas production, and improve air quality that currently costs the economy over USD 95 billion a year in health and productivity losses. (World Bank Air Quality Report 2024)

For India, the path to 2070 isn’t just about carbon — it’s about balance: growth, energy security, and sustainability.

The world’s cleanest economies didn’t leap straight to zero — they transitioned smartly. For India, that smart transition is spelled CNG → Bio-CNG → Hydrogen → Net-Zero.

Every CNG refuel today reduces emissions, strengthens rural energy networks, and brings India one step closer to 2070’s clean-energy vision.

CNG isn’t the endgame — it’s the engine powering the journey there.

Disclaimer: All data and projections in this article are based on verified public sources including PNGRB, PPAC, IEA, and MoPNG reports as of 2025. Actual outcomes may vary depending on fuel prices, government policy, and technological adoption.