A senior delegation from the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) undertook a knowledge exchange visit to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in Mumbai and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) in Gandhinagar on February 10 and 12, respectively, to better understand the legal, institutional, and operational considerations required to implement an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The visit forms part of Rajasthan’s ongoing efforts to explore market-based instruments as a complement to traditional command-and-control approaches for regulating industrial pollution.
Discussions at MPCB focused on Maharashtra’s experience in establishing an ETS for SO₂ emissions through a clearly defined legal and regulatory framework. Officials highlighted the importance of securing legal anchoring before market launch to ensure regulatory certainty and sustained industry participation. Maharashtra’s approach brought industries across 17 highly polluting sectors into the programme, helping create sufficient market depth while positioning ETS as an incentive-based compliance mechanism rather than a punitive intervention. The delegation also reviewed MPCB’s digital Consent Management System, which streamlines processes such as Consent to Establish (CTE), Consent to Operate (CTO), renewals, and internal approvals, demonstrating how digital transparency and administrative preparedness can strengthen regulatory efficiency and support innovative market mechanisms.
At GPCB headquarters in Gandhinagar, conversations centred on legal interpretation and industry preparedness for transitioning toward emissions trading. Officials shared insights from the Surat ETS, which was conceptualised and operationalised within the Board’s existing regulatory mandate. Before implementation, guidance from the Central Government clarified that ETS could be introduced as a pilot mechanism without replacing existing environmental regulations, helping maintain regulatory continuity while enabling experimentation with market-based approaches. Industry engagement emerged as a key lesson, with officials emphasising the importance of structured consultations, awareness-building initiatives, and technical support on cost-effective pollution control technologies to build confidence ahead of market rollout.
The visit brought together regulators and technical experts from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, with research support from the Emissions Market Accelerator, a joint initiative between the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), two of the world’s leading research and policy implementation organisations. The exchanges underscored that successful pollution markets rely not only on sound market design but also on strong legal foundations, administrative readiness, digital systems, and sustained industry engagement. As Rajasthan evaluates pathways for a phased ETS rollout, these peer-learning interactions provide valuable institutional insights drawn from India’s existing pilots. The knowledge exchange reflects a broader evolution in environmental governance in India toward data-driven, transparent, and market-aligned approaches that can reduce pollution cost-effectively while supporting economic competitiveness.