INDIA IS on the verge of creating a carbon market. The move will set emissions targets for emitters and allow overachievers to sell their excess emission cuts, while underachievers will have to purchase them to meet their goals. The market will be created once the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTs), notified in June 2023, comes in force.
In August 2024, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), which will implement CCTS, released the scheme's compliance procedure (see 'Evolution of...'). But emission targets, which will determine CCTS' effectiveness, are yet to be announced. BEE officials say CCTS will likely take effect by 2026.
Simply put, CCTS is a market-based mechanism to reduce or limit emissions. Its genesis lies in India's commitment to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions emissions reduction target for 2030 committed under the Paris Agreement of 2016. One of India's targets is to reduce the "emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030". In 2021, India also declared the target of becoming a net-zero emitter by 2070. These global commitments and the increasing impacts of climate change on India generated a need to limit emissions, leading to the government to launch new policies and instruments. CCTS is one such instrument.
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a tariff to be imposed by the European Union from 2026 (under which the bloc will put an additional price on imported products on the basis of greenhouse gases emitted in manufacturing them) and the development of carbon markets by developing countries like China and Indonesia, have also likely driven India towards CCTS. The challenge, however, is to ensure that the scheme fulfils its purpose of reducing emissions. Here's how the CCTS will work.
INDIAN CARBON MARKET
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
