Emissions Trading Scheme –Gujarat commended in Parliament

The efforts of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) in collaboration with researchers from Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and Yale University, have been commended  by Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal,   Member of Parliament, Paschim Champaran, Bihar on the fourth day of the Winter Session of the Parliament, quoting “.. I congratulate Government of Gujarat for the Emission Trading scheme wherein the industries emitting  Particulate Matter below the prescribed limits will be benefited…” The Gujarat Government’s initiative to tackle air pollution through the Emissions Trading Scheme for particulate matter, a first of its kind in the world, was appreciated. The winter session of the Parliament held considerable debate on air pollution in the wake of the Delhi air pollution crisis. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani had launched the world’s first emissions trading scheme for particulate matter on the World Environment Day, the 5th June 2019. Initiated in Surat, where many industries release significant amount of particulate matter into the environment, 158 plants have been trading in permits related to their particulate matter emissions for the past 2 months since the 16th of Sept. The pilot, which has now completed two months of live-trading, is expected to drastically reduce air pollution at a low cost to both government and industry and in the process facilitate Ease of Doing Business that Gujarat is deeply committed to. Dr Rajiv Kumar Gupta 1986 batch IAS officer is the Chairman of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board.