Could emissions trading help clean India’s air?

Context: India’s push for clean air increasingly relies on market-based mechanisms that reward verified emission reductions rather than only compliance.

CEEW Analysis: By directly capping emissions, using real-time data and rewarding cost-effective emission cuts, the Emissions Trading System (ETS) offers India a uniquely scalable and locally relevant market-based mechanism to cleaner urban air.

Key Insight: ETS can become a critical national urban air management mechanism with stronger data systems, wider sectoral coverage, and increased institutional capacity.