The Environment Ministry on Thursday launched a national technical consultation for air pollutants on a emissions trading scheme.
Speaking at the inaugural session, the Union Environment Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, said it is a necessary step in environmental regulation to address global climate change.
“There is a debate on carbon trade globally. Today what India is doing with this initiative is a carbon trade for local polluters,” Mr Ramesh said.
Mr Ramesh also called for stricter and more robust environmental regulations. But he added that stricter environmental regulations would help in fewer regulators. “We had to find a way of regulating without regulators. I look upon today's initiative as a first step that India is taking to enforce environmental regulations in a market-friendly manner,” Mr Ramesh said.
The Minister, though, added that the carbon trade initiative because of the global negotiations on climate change. He said that the initiative is linked to tackle public health problems due to the local polluters.
Mr Ramesh said that the initiative for an emissions trading scheme would convince the market that the Ministry is also interested in the growth of the market in an environment-friendly manner.
States such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have started to implement market-based instruments such as Emissions Trading Scheme for air pollution. The scheme has the benefit of enabling lower pollution levels at lower overall costs of compliance.
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