Gas Emission Intensity(GEI) Target Rules, 2025
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified the first legally binding Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity (GEI) Target Rules, 2025 to reduce industrial emissions.
GEI Target Rules, 2025:
- The GEI Rules set a legal limit on the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that can be emitted per unit of product output (e.g., per tonne of cement or aluminium).
- It aims to operationalize India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023, strengthening the country’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement 2015.
- The rules set specific GHG emission limits (in tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of product) for the aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali, and pulp and paper industries.
- A total of 282 industrial units must comply with these targets for the financial years 2025-26 and 2026-27.
- Emission intensity is measured as tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), a standard unit that accounts for the global warming potential of all greenhouse gases, not just CO2.
- The system is designed to create a market-driven incentive for reducing emissions through a tradable credit system.
- Industries that reduce their emissions below the set target will earn carbon credit certificates, issued by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
- Penalties for Non-Compliance:
- Industries that fail to meet their targets have two options:
- Buy carbon credits from the domestic market to cover their shortfall.
- Face environmental compensation penalties imposed by the Central Pollution Control Board.
