Cement, Energy and Environment

51 Implementing the upcoming Carbon Credit Trading Scheme in Limestone Mining Bhanu Prakash Bhatnagar, Head Mining & Geology Ambuja Cement Limited PREAMBLE Indiahas officially crossedahistoricmilestone in its climate journey. With the Ministry of Environment, Forest andClimateChange (MoEFCC) notifying the Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity (GEI) Targets 2025 under the India Carbon Credit Trading Scheme 2023, the country is laying the foundation for a fully functional, domestic carbon market. The Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) is a market-based mechanism that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by allowing the buying and selling of carbon credits. In other words, CCTS is a critical policy framework for reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from any industrial process. The CCTS framework allows trading of emission certificates, which in process fundamentally provide market incentives to reduce carbon dioxide. In the context of limestone mining associated with the Cement Industry, it aims to incentivize emission reductions to help this industry. CCTS creates a market- based mechanism where industries can trade carbon credits, effectively putting a price on their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. During limestone mining, this means that if a company reduces its emissions below a set target, it can generate carbon credit that it can then sell to other companies that need to meet their emission targets. INDIAN SCENARIO FOR CARBON MARKET: India’s industrial sector is the backbone of its economic growth—contributing over 25% of GDP and employing millions. However, it is also a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, primarily fromsteel, cement, chemicals, and power generation. To meet its Net Zero 2070 target, industrial decarbonization in India is not just important—it’s urgent. India has pledged at