The Gujarat government on Tuesday announced that Ahmedabad has become the second city in the country to implement an emission trading scheme (ETS) for particulate pollution that will help in regulating industrial emissions and reduce the state’s pollution levels.

Live trading involving 118 industries within the scheme commenced on September 1. Gujarat’s forest and environment minister Mulubhai Bera inaugurated the first uniform auction for the Ahmedabad ETS market, distributing pollution permits online to all participating industries.

“Gujarat has been a flagbearer of taking innovative initiatives to ensure a balance between economic development and environment preservation. The ETS for particulate matter (PM), the first in the world for PM emissions, is an example of the unique initiatives being taken by the government of Gujarat to contain its emissions,” the minister said in a statement.

The scheme empowers industries in the textile sector within the Narol and Vatva industrial clusters.

The ETS is implemented by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board with the technical expertise of professors from University of Chicago, University of Yale, University of Warwick along with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and Energy Policy Institute Chicago. The trading platform has been developed by NCDEX e Markets Limited (NeML).