The two-year pilot project will cover 1,000 industries near metro areas in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and will begin with pollutants like SOx and NOx.
As an idea, it is a good one, but industry must understand it does not mean a smaller role for pollution control authorities; indeed, successful working is contingent on the authorities doing a better job. It does, though, mean there will be a lot less harassment of individual units. Let's say Gujarat's current level of NOx pollution is 100 units and needs to fall to 75 after three years. Gujarat may choose to now issue 95 emission certificates of one-year validity to industry in the first year (it makes no difference if they're given free or auctioned), 87 in the second year and 75 in the third year. Each firm has to surrender one emission certificate for each unit of NOx it generates. In year 1, all firms in Gujarat can emit only 95 units (or they pay a penalty if they have emitted more), this is non-negotiable. If, in year 1, Firm X has only 5 certificates but emits 7 units of NOx, the ETS gives it some flexibility in that it can buy 2 certificates from Firm Y that has emitted two units less of NOx as compared to the certificates it has. Read the full report here.
Source: The Financial Express.
