India opens first-ever EV charging station

Nov. 20 (UPI) -- In announcing a first, a state-owned oil company in India said charging stations for electric vehicles can address some fundamental pollution issues.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp. and online transportation network company Ola said they took a "big leap" toward a greener India with the launch of the country's first-ever electric vehicle charging station in Nagpur, the largest city of central India.

Murali Srinivasan, the oil company's executive director, said the partnership is a first step toward a re-imagined India.

"EVs have the ability to solve some of the key issues we are currently facing with respect to vehicular pollution and air quality; and as a large-scale mobility platform," he said in a statement.

As of Monday afternoon local time, the air quality index for New Delhi was 182, about midway through a scale indicating threats to public health. Most people would experience some sort of health effect starting at an index of 151.

According to the International Energy Agency, global per-capita emissions have increased 13 percent in the quarter century ending in 2015. Since then, China, the world's largest economy, has more than tripled its per-capita emissions, while India more than doubled its levels.

A party to the multilateral Paris climate agreement, India has set a goal of reducing its emissions by about 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

Two million electric vehicles were on the road globally last year, with most of those in the U.S., European and Chinese markets. For Europe, the British and French governments set long-term goals to phase out new gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. Germany, meanwhile, has worked quickly to expand its network of charging stations across its national roadway system.