Gujarat on Wednesday launched a market-based trading system to reduce air pollution, where the government sets a cap on emissions and allows industries to buy and sell permits to stay below the cap.

Touted to be the world’s “first” emissions trading system for particulate pollution, the programme is being piloted in Surat as it is a densely populated industrial centre where textile and dye mills release a “significant” amount of air pollution. Going forward, the programme is expected to be used as a model for other parts of India to reduce air pollution and facilitate “robust economic growth”, stated the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) in a release following the move.

READ MORE AT THE INDIAN EXPRESS