The Government of Gujarat launched the world's first market for particulate pollution in Surat in 2019, providing a model for reducing air pollution while growing the economy.
Chairman, Gujarat Pollution Control Board; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Gujarat
With this programme, we are kicking off a new era of cleaner production that would lower industries’ compliance costs and reward plants that cut pollution using low-cost methods. We believe that using this market-based system will contribute to rapid economic growth, ease the method of doing business, as well as help people breathe clean air.
Sanjay Jaiswal
Member of Parliament
The Gujarat government has started the world’s first emissions trading scheme for industries. Those industries which pollute less can sell emission caps and big industries which pollute more can buy those caps. This enables smaller industries to make a profit. I congratulate the Gujarat government for taking these steps.
Siddharth Goel
Founder & CEO, Rethinking Public Policy
The scheme is a departure from the traditional command and control approach to environment regulation. The past approach failed to curb emissions and instead bred a culture of non-compliance among companies. The pilot’s success could lead to the adoption of market-based approaches in tackling India’s other environmental challenges.
Rohini Pande
the Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics; Director, Economic Growth Center at Yale University
The implementation of the pilot ETS demonstrates remarkable foresight and imagination from Indian regulators and industry who are now using cutting-edge technology and economic techniques to balance the twin objectives of economic growth and air quality improvement.
Michael Greenstone
Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics; Director, Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago
A first look at the programme finds that the Gujarat Pollution Control Board’s ETS is projected to both foster economic growth by reducing industries’ compliance costs and improve people’s health by reducing particulate air pollution. It is bringing Indian environmental policy to the global frontier.
Cap-and-trade strategies like the ETS have been found to reduce the amount of emissions released by industries but further research is needed to ascertain the total impact.