Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity (GEI) Target (Amendment) Rules, 2025
Kartavya Desk Staff
Source: TOI
Subject: Environment
Context: The Union Government has notified the second round of legally binding emission reduction targets for carbon-intensive industries under the Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity (GEI) Target (Amendment) Rules, 2025.
About Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity (GEI) Target (Amendment) Rules, 2025:
What it is?
• The GEI Target (Amendment) Rules, 2025 are statutory rules notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to set mandatory, sector-specific greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-intensity reduction targets for industrial entities, operationalising India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS).
Came into force:
• Came into force on October 9, 2025, becoming India’s first legally binding industrial emission intensity rules
• Builds on the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023.
Nodal ministry / agencies:
• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) – rule notification
• Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) – issuance and calculation of carbon credits
• Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) – compliance enforcement and penalties
Sectors covered (second round):
• Petroleum refineries, Petrochemical units, Textile sector (spinning, processing, fibre, composite units), and Secondary aluminium.
• 208 industrial units added, including PSUs like Indian Oil, BPCL, HPCL, ONGC, Numaligarh Refinery and private players such as Reliance Industries.
• Earlier round – Oct 2025: aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali, pulp & paper were added.
Key features:
• Emission intensity metric: Targets expressed as tCO₂e per unit of output, covering all greenhouse gases by global warming potential.
• Baseline year: 2023–24; compliance targets set for 2025–26 and 2026–27.
• Carbon market linkage: Covered entities are brought under India’s domestic carbon market via the CCTS.
• Incentive mechanism: Entities exceeding targets earn carbon credit certificates. Credits can be traded or banked for future compliance years.
• Entities exceeding targets earn carbon credit certificates.
• Credits can be traded or banked for future compliance years.
• Penalty for non-compliance: Environmental compensation = twice the average carbon credit price of that compliance year. Payable within 90 days, enforced by CPCB.
• Environmental compensation = twice the average carbon credit price of that compliance year.
• Payable within 90 days, enforced by CPCB.
• Overall reduction ambition: ~3–7% reduction in emission intensity by 2026–27 compared to baseline.
Significance:
• Marks India’s shift from voluntary efficiency measures to legally binding climate compliance.
• Strengthens the Indian Carbon Market (ICM) and price discovery for carbon.
• Supports India’s NDC commitment of 45% reduction in GDP emission intensity by 2030 (vs 2005).