NEW DELHI: India’s all traditionally high-emission industries, including aluminum, cement and pulp & paper, will have to reduce the intensity of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to meet specific targets by 2026-27 compared to a 2023-24 baseline as the govt has notified rules for the country’s first legally binding emission reduction target for carbon-heavy industries.The rules, notified by the environment ministry on Oct 8, make it mandatory for 282 industrial units to reduce GHG emissions per unit of product (emission intensity) beginning 2025-26.These industrial units, spread across the country, will be liable to pay a penalty for non-compliance. The rules are notified under the compliance mechanism of the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023.The highest number of industrial units (186) which will have to reduce GHG emission intensity (GEI) within a specified time-period belong to the cement sector, followed by pulp & paper (53), plants that use chlor-alkali process to extract certain chemicals (30), and aluminium plants (13).GEI targets (in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) for the year 2025-26 have been calculated based on the pro-rata basis for the remaining months of the current financial year. The overall reduction till 2026-27 ranges from about 3.4% in the cement sector to about 5.8% in aluminium, 7.5% in chlor-alkali and 7.1% in pulp and paper, compared to the 2023-24 levels.In case an industrial unit fails to comply with the GEI target or fails to submit the carbon credit certificates equivalent to the shortfall for compliance, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will impose ‘environmental compensation’ (penalty) for the shortfall.The penalty will be equal to twice of the average price at which the carbon credit certificate is traded during the trading cycle of that compliance year. It’ll be paid within the 90 days from the day of the imposition order.According to the notification, the fund collected under the ‘environmental compensation’ will be maintained in a separate account and utilised for the purposes of the CCTS on the recommendation of the national steering committee for the Indian carbon market.The GEI targets are in sync with India’s ‘net zero’ emission goal of 2070 and will contribute to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) – climate action targets – through the reduction or removal or avoidance of GHG emissions.
Govt notifies legally binding emission targets; cement, pulp, paper industries will need to cut GHG emissions | India News
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