India's carbon trading market to be announced this month

Anticipation is building that India is about to start a carbon trading market for major emitters in the energy, steel and cement industries. The clean energy initiative is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Independence Day celebrations on 15 August, according local sources. It has been in the works since March, according to Reuters.

It is thought that the market would initially be limited to hard-to-abate sectors, allowing participants to trade credits earned from cutting emissions. One of the goals is to ensure state-owned energy firms as well as cement and steel companies, can benefit from planned investments in carbon capture projects.

India, the world’s third-biggest emitter, surprised pundits by announcing a plan to achieve net zero by 2070 at the COP26 summit in Glasgow late last year. While that’s a decade behind China, the south Asian economy is less developed and faces greater climate challenges. The country is looking to cut 1bnt of emissions by 2030 as a first step in reaching its goal.

A detailed plan for establishing the Indian carbon market is likely to be ready in the fourth quarter. India is also looking to introduce methanol-blended fuels in land and marine transport, build more carbon capture projects, and encourage the adoption of electric vehicles as part of its climate goals, local sources said.