The Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) continues to emphasize the need for regulatory innovations that combine environmental protection with industrial growth. The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) play a pivotal role in realizing this vision, serving as the institutional anchors for innovation, compliance, and implementation.

In furtherance of this objective, RSPCB, in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DoE&CC), Government of Rajasthan, and the Emissions Market Accelerator (EMA), a joint initiative of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and J-PAL, proposes to convene a Workshop on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The workshop is envisioned as a high-level inter-state dialogue, bringing together leadership and senior officials from the Pollution Control Boards of India, to deliberate on the roadmap for scaling emissions markets across states.

Purpose and Focus of the Workshop

The proposed workshop aims to initiate a structured dialogue on emissions markets and build institutional capacity within SPCBs. The key objectives of the workshop include:

• Capacity building of SPCBs on the ETS, including its regulatory framework, technical underpinnings, and market design elements.
• Exploring pathways to adapt and customize the ETS model to suit localized regulatory, industrial, and geographical contexts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and other states.
• Identifying opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing across SPCBs to advance India’s leadership in emissions markets.

The deliberations from the workshop are expected to contribute towards charting a cohesive strategy for the next phase of the Emissions Market Accelerator’s ETS scale-up and implementation, while aligning with national priorities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).