Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change has notified Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity Target (Amendment) Rules, 2025 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Key Details
- Expansion: Addition of four new sectors - Petroleum Refinery, Petrochemicals, Textiles, and Secondary Aluminium, to the list of obligated sectors to cut GHG emissions.
- Previous sectors - Aluminium, Cement, Chlor-alkali, and Pulp & Paper.
- Targets & Timeline: The new rules mandate 208 specific industrial units to reduce their GHG emission intensity (emissions per unit of product) starting from the compliance year 2025-26.
- Reduction Goals: The overall emission intensity reduction targets range from 3% to 7% by 2026-27 (baseline: 2023-24).
- Compliance Mechanism: Units failing to meet targets must purchase Carbon Credit Certificates (CCCs) to cover the shortfall.
- Failure to do so attracts an 'environmental compensation' penalty equivalent to twice the average trading price of CCCs.
- Significance: This move aligns with India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030 and achieving Net Zero by 2070.
About Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS)
- Origin: Notified by the Union Ministry of Power in 2023 under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
- Objective: CCTS laid the foundation for the Indian Carbon Market (ICM) by establishing the institutional framework.
- Structure:
- Administrator: Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) sets targets and issues CCCs.
- Regulator: Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) regulates trading of CCCs.
- Registry: Grid Controller of India Limited.
- Operational Framework: Functions through a Compliance Mechanism (obligated entities meet GHG Emission Intensity targets; overachievers earn credits) and an Offset Mechanism (non-obligated entities voluntarily register reduction projects to seek credits).
- Mechanism: It operates on a 'Cap and Trade' model.
- Obligated entities that reduce emissions beyond their target earn CCCs (1 CCC = 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent), which can be traded on power exchanges.
