Sino-German Cooperation on Decarbonising Freight Transport (CDFT)

China’s transport sector is responsible for almost 10% of the country’s total energy-related CO2 emissions. Already today, the majority of emissions stem from road freight transport. As freight demand continues to rise in China, the need to decarbonise becomes even more critical to achieve climate targets in alignment with the Paris agreement.
The project supports emission reductions in China’s freight transport sector. The focus is on electrifying vehicle fleets and promoting a shift to rail and water transport. At the same time, the projects seeks to increase the efficiency of intermodal operations, which integrate different modes such as rail and trucks, and exchange on innovations for zero emission urban logistics.

The project is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

The project builds on three pillars to foster a comprehensive shift towards zero emission freight transport in China. It thereby contributes to practical frameworks and scaling effective decarbonisation measures across the country:

Project activities foster enhanced international exchange on ambitious freight decarbonisation strategies and roadmaps. GIZ supports the development of national policies, setting up a multi-stakeholder platform and enabling global knowledge exchange via study tours and outreach activities.

The project works towards a modal shift in long-haul freight transport, coupled with measures to accelerate electrification of fleets. Key activities include the implementation of a regional pilot to test a comprehensive freight decarbonisation strategy and its corresponding roadmap, taking into account gender needs and women’s sector contributions.

The decarbonisation of urban freight is addressed via the development of innovative and sustainable urban freight measures, ensuring mutual learning between China and Germany. Partners are supported to test joint green urban distribution pilots and demonstrate effective strategies for decarbonising urban logistics, which are both practical and scalable for broader application nation-wide. Chinese innovations will be showcased on an innovation radar, making developments accessible to an international audience.

Project Information

Ongoing Bilateral

Contact: Urda Eichhorst, urda.eichhorst@giz.de

Country: China

Duration: 08/2024 –  08/2027

Funder: Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)

Implementation: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Implementation Partners: 

  • Transport Planning and Research Institute (TPRI)
  • Agora Transport Transformation gGmbh  (Agora Verkehrswende)

Political Partner: Ministry of Transport (MoT), China

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