The ATO green roads profiles present country-level perspectives on how 35 Asia-Pacific economies are addressing the development and management of sustainable eco-friendly roads. Drawing from diverse datasets and policy documents, the profiles highlight practices and measures that contribute to greener transport infrastructure.

Developed by the Asian Transport Observatory (ATO) in partnership with the International Road Federation (IRF), the profiles are designed to complement the Green Roads Toolkit. The toolkit provides a practical reference for integrating good practices across nine dimensions:

• Decarbonization
• Climate resilience
• Water and land management
• Pollution reduction
• Conserving biodiversity
• Responsible sourcing of materials
• Improving quality of life
• Disaster preparedness
• Fostering inclusive growth

This 2025 edition builds on earlier work to provide a comprehensive resource for guiding the planning, development, construction, and management of greener, more sustainable roads.

Myanmar's mobility infrastructure is primarily characterized by small-scale local routes rather than major arteries. The country features a road network of 231,500 kilometers within a land area of 653,000 square kilometers, mostly comprising local and rural roads, which make up 89% of all roads. Only 3% are classified as motorways or primary highways. This predominance of minor roads influences Myanmar's approach to decarbonization. Although road infrastructure has increased slightly to 4.2 kilometers per thousand people, the overall density is still low at 355 meters per square kilometer. This sparse network presents logistical challenges, hindering the development of resilient, sustainable transport infrastructure.

The vehicular fleet navigating this network presents a distinct profile for emissions mitigation. Two-wheelers form the overwhelming majority at 85%, creating a motorization rate of 151 vehicles per thousand population—roughly half the Asia-Pacific average. Despite this relatively low vehicle ownership, the carbon intensity of the sector is accelerating disproportionately. While economy-wide emissions grew at a modest 1.3% annually since 2000, road transport emissions surged by 5.8% per year, culminating in 13.3 million tonnes of CO2e by 2024. This sector now accounts for 97% of total transport emissions, signaling that any "Green Road" initiative must prioritize the decarbonization of two-wheelers and the heavy-duty vehicles responsible for 32% of emissions, rather than focusing solely on private passenger cars.

Electrification has captured a foothold, evidenced by electric vehicles (EVs) comprising 31% of total road vehicle imports by 2024. However, the environmental dividend of this shift is blunted by the upstream power generation mix. The grid emission factor has regressed by 4.1% since 2015, sitting at 570g CO2 per kWh, notably higher than the Asia-Pacific average. Without concurrent grid decarbonization, the shift to electric mobility merely displaces emissions from the tailpipe to the smokestack. UNEP's E-mobility Readiness Index scores Myanmar at 54 out of 100, highlighting acute deficits in policy frameworks and financial mechanisms necessary to support a transition that is genuinely clean rather than superficially electric.

Climate resilience poses a fiscal and physical existential threat to the network. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank estimates network efficiency at a suboptimal 0.53, yet the greater danger lies in asset vulnerability. Under a 4.5-degree warming scenario, over 57% of road and rail assets face exposure to intensified precipitation. This climatic stress translates into economic loss; average annual losses to transport infrastructure are estimated at 55.6 million USD, with roads absorbing 72% of this damage. Bridges and tunnels, though only 0.2% of the infrastructure stock, shoulder a disproportionate 2.6% of losses. The current material stock of 952.5 million tonnes implies that maintenance and expansion require 20.5 million tonnes of material annually, carrying an embodied carbon weight of 909,000 tonnes CO2-equivalent. A green road strategy must therefore pivot toward material efficiency and adaptation to mitigate the projected financial shocks.

Ecological and social friction points further complicate the expansion of the network. Road infrastructure currently intrudes into 79 of Myanmar's 114 Key Biodiversity Areas, fragmenting habitats with a density of 22 meters per thousand square kilometers in these sensitive zones. Simultaneously, the network fails to deliver equitable access. A staggering 13.7 million rural residents live beyond two kilometers of an all-season road, effectively severing them from healthcare, markets, and disaster recovery mechanisms. In urban agglomerations, only 30% of the population enjoys public transport access levels of 50% or better. The safety deficit is equally stark, with road crash fatalities estimated at 10,405 in 2021.The economic burden of road crashes in Myanmar is substantial. Fatalities and serious injuries cost an estimated 3 billion USD in 2021, representing roughly 5% of Myanmar's GDP. This figure is comparable to the country's healthcare expenditure of 5.6% of GDP in the same year.

Transitioning Myanmar's transport sector requires a simultaneous calibration of infrastructure resilience, energy diversification, and social inclusion. The current trajectory—characterized by diverging emissions growth and a regressing grid factor—undermines the gains from early EV adoption. A "Green Road" framework for Myanmar could integrate biodiversity safeguards to protect the 114 key ecological zones while closing the access gap for the 13.7 million rural citizens currently isolated. Success depends on decoupling mobility growth from carbon intensity through a cleaner grid and robust adaptation investments to shield the 55.6 million USD in annual infrastructure value currently at risk from climate volatility.

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