Centre issues fresh draft emission cut targets for iron and steel sector
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500+ questions on Environment with explanations
📌 Summary:
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MoEFCC has re-issued a draft notification setting greenhouse gas emission intensity (GEI) targets for the iron and steel sector, aligning it with India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS); draft issued June 26, made public July 2
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Covers 255 industrial units — including JSW Steel, Tata, SAIL and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel — spanning steel plants, sponge iron units and ferro-alloy manufacturers
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Baseline year: 2023–24 (product output and emission intensity); compliance target year: 2026–27; targets expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e); 60-day window for objections; the 2025–26 column is left blank and no reason was given for the fresh draft (marginal changes from the June 2025 draft)
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How CCTS works: each obligated unit gets a GEI target (emissions per unit of output); outperformers earn carbon credit certificates tradable to laggards; non-compliant units pay environmental compensation equal to twice the average carbon credit price
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Eight sectors already have finalised targets: aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali, pulp & paper, secondary aluminium, petroleum refinery, petrochemical and textile (earlier rounds covered 490 high-emission units)
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Context: in March 2026 India revised its NDCs under UNFCCC/Paris Agreement, including reducing emissions intensity of GDP by 47% by 2035 vs 2005 levels
🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Environment — carbon markets (CCTS), decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, NDCs and Paris Agreement compliance; steel sector decarbonisation is a recurring Mains theme.
📝 Prelims Facts:
- CCTS notified in 2023; creates the framework for the Indian carbon market
- GEI = greenhouse gas emission intensity — GHG emitted per unit of product output
- Penalty for non-compliance = 2x the average traded carbon credit price
- Draft covers 255 iron & steel units; baseline 2023–24, compliance year 2026–27
🔑 Key Term: Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) — India's market-based compliance mechanism (2023) where units beating emission-intensity targets earn tradable carbon credit certificates, incentivising least-cost decarbonisation.
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