Watch: Budget 2024 | What’s in it for energy sector?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech has for the first time signalled that polluting industries, such as iron, steel, and aluminium will have to conform to emission targets.
Currently, the industry in India has no curbs on emissions instead of carbon credits but is incentivised to achieve energy efficiency targets via a scheme called Perform, Achieve, Trade that has been operational since 2015.
Caps on emissions also tie in with new international norms, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, to be imposed by the European Union (EU) in 2026. This will entail a tax on iron, steel, and aluminium goods imported into the EU that are produced by looser emission standards that that imposed on similar industries in the EU.