India's 9-Sector Carbon Market May Fail to Cut Industrial Emissions
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 30
India's 9-Sector Carbon Market May Fail to Cut Industrial Emissions
3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 30
Summary
India’s planned national carbon market is expected to do little to curb emissions from steel, cement and other heavy industries, according to a new study.
Weak penalties and likely low allowance prices would leave polluters with little financial pressure to cut emissions quickly, undermining the scheme’s core incentive.
Trading in the system, which initially covers nine major sectors, is scheduled to begin around October, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency said.
Companies covered by the market have already been measuring emissions against new intensity targets since last year, setting up a launch that may test India’s broader decarbonization push.
If penalties for polluting cost less than upgrading technology, will India's heavy industries ever truly decarbonize under this intensity-based market?
Could the intentional exclusion of the power sector from India's carbon market doom the scheme to the same oversupply failures as past programs?
With trading starting this October, is India’s carbon market designed to save the climate, or just shield exporters from European trade penalties?