Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday laid emphasis on the importance of reducing the use of fossil fuels and decarbonization in different sectors, and further said that as part of government’s efforts in this direction, the target of blending 20 per cent ethanol in petrol will likely be achieved in the coming two months.

He said that with the blending of ethanol in petrol, it not only reduces its cost, but also helps in mitigating pollution.

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The minister added that work is underway and several car manufacturers are even developing vehicles that will run on 100 per cent bio-ethanol, and further added that such vehicles will not only bring down the running costs as compared to using petrol as fuel but also significantly reduce the pollution emissions.

Gadkari was addressing the second Industrial Decarbonization Summit – Road to net zero here, where he also unveiled the Indian Association for Air Pollution Control’s (IAAPC) activity report for 2022-24.

During his address, the minister also said, “In the near times to come if we use ethanol in place of petrol, we can save costs significantly,”. He said that the fuel is now becoming popular and is also being made from corn, and is going to be very useful for the economy.

The minister further pointed out the problem of air pollution which is a cause of concern, saying that 42 cities of the country are amongst the top 50 polluted cities across the globe.

He emphasised that more efforts are needed to bring down the air pollution and work is being done in this regard.

Gadkari mentioned that 85 per cent of the transport sector is dependent on fossil fuels, while Rs 22 lakh crore worth of such fuel is being imported which is also an issue in terms of economy, and the pollution generated with the use of the conventional fuel is also a problem for the nation.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jeewan Prakash Gupta, vice president of the IAAPC, said that various aspects of the issue of air pollution were being discussed in the summit and work is being done to come up with effective solutions.

He lauded the Union Minister and his efforts towards decarbonization and initiatives aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels.