India To Launch Carbon Market by 2026; Emission Targets Coming Soon: Manohar Lal Khattar

The government is all set to launch the much-awaited Indian Carbon Market in 2026, while the emission intensity objectives needed to get the system up and running will be released within a month or two," said Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the International Conference on Carbon Markets, Prakriti 2025.

He added that the government is laying the groundwork for an early soft launch to identify and address any challenges before full implementation.

By allowing companies to exchange carbon credits, carbon markets provide financial incentives for reducing emissions. The power ministry's Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) will set emission intensity objectives for nine "hard-to-abate" industries, including as petrochemicals, cement, fertilizers, iron and steel, and aluminum, in advance of the launch.

BEE's Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) programme, which aims to increase energy efficiency, already covers these industries. Phased implementation of the revised emission intensity objectives through 2030 will directly address greenhouse gas reductions.

Under the Paris Agreement, India has committed to reducing its GDP emissions intensity by 45% from 2005 levels and increasing non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 50% by 2030. The ICM, regulated under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), will provide both compliance and offset mechanisms for businesses to earn and trade carbon credits based on their emissions performance.

(Source: moneycontrol)