Syllabus: GS3/ Environment
Context
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the draft Greenhouse Gases Emissions Intensity (GEI) Target Rules, 2025.
What is Greenhouse Gases Emissions Intensity (GEI)?
- GEI refers to the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted per unit of product output (e.g., per tonne of cement or aluminium).
- GHGs include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), ozone (O₃), and water vapour, along with synthetic gases like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
- GEI is measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e), a standard unit accounting for the global warming potential of all GHGs.
Draft GEI target Rules
- The emissions intensity targets, with 2023–24 as the baseline year and 2025–26 and 2026–27 as the target years, aim at the gradual reduction of emissions intensity to promote low-carbon industrial growth.
- The draft rules target 282 industrial units across four highly energy-intensive sectors: 13 aluminium plants, 186 cement plants, 53 pulp and paper plants, and 30 chlor-alkali plants.
- Alignment with National Climate Goals: It supports India’s commitment to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
Government Initiatives
- The Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme was initiated in the year 2012 and is a market-based mechanism aimed to improve energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries by notifying specific energy consumption reduction targets to industries (called Designated Consumers or DCs).
- Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023 provides a platform to generate, trade, and utilise carbon credits. The entities that reduce emissions below targets can sell surplus credits.
| Carbon Markets – Carbon markets are systems designed to place a price on carbon emissions and create economic incentives for emission reduction, also known as ‘carbon credits’. – A carbon credit is a kind of tradable permit that, per United Nations standards, equals one tonne of carbon dioxide removed, reduced, or sequestered from the atmosphere. – Under Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol, countries with surplus emission allowances can sell them to those exceeding their targets, creating an international carbon market. Voluntary Offsets – Voluntary offsets refer to measures undertaken by private individuals, including afforestation, that can trap carbon dioxide as commercial projects. – These too generate carbon credits and companies sell them, internationally as of now, to those that require them to meet the compliance regulations. |
Concluding remarks
- The draft GEI Target Rules mark a significant step in transitioning India’s industrial sector toward low-carbon development.
- By combining mandatory targets with a market-driven approach, India is aligning environmental sustainability with economic efficiency — a crucial balance for achieving its climate ambitions.
Source: IE
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