Gujarat Pollution Control Board, in collaboration with The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), and Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) at Harvard University organized a workshop on “Emissions Monitoring and Market-Based Pollution Regulation” in Gandhinagar on 16th January 2019. Leading academicians and international experts discussed the potential of emissions trading scheme for pollution control in India, the benefits of modern monitoring technology, and lessons from across the world.
The workshop was inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijaybhai Rupani and State Environment Minister, Shri Jaydrathsinhji Parmar. Addressing the audience, Hon’ble Chief Minister said “the goal of Vibrant Gujarat is to promote collaboration among industry leaders, global thought leaders, regulators, and renowned academicians. One such example is this event hosted by Gujarat Pollution Control Board today, as a precursor to the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2019, to facilitate knowledge-sharing in the field of market-based regulations through dialogues with several leading experts in the field.”
Keynote speakers at the workshop included Prof. Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago and Prof. Rohini Pande of Harvard Kennedy School. The event saw a wide variety of participants among the audience including senior policymakers, sector experts, industry representatives and young students.
Prof Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Professor in Economics and Director of EPIC, who has served as the Chief Economist for President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, said “I congratulate Gujarat Pollution Control Board for its forward-looking vision and the ground-breaking success it has achieved in implementing regulatory reforms such as third-party environmental auditing and for being the first state in India for setting up a robust emissions monitoring system.” Dr. Pande added “these innovative steps taken by GPCB will not just create lasting changes in Gujarat but will also create important learnings for the country.”
Talking about the MoU that GPCB signed with J-PAL South Asia at IFMR, and with EPIC India, during the workshop, Dr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta IAS, Chairman, Gujarat Pollution Control Board said, “The State Pollution Control Boards are always making efforts to find sustainable solutions to address the issue of pollution. GPCB’s collaboration with leading research centers to introduce markets, backed by rigorous scientific research, has the potential to benefit the regulator, regulated and most importantly, the public”.
**Our work in this project is supported by the MacArthur Foundation, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation.