Parliament Question: Fraudulent Carbon Credit Transactions

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3373 ANSWERED ON 12.03.2026 FRAUDULENT CARBON CREDIT TRANSACTIONS 3373. SHRI BASAVARAJ BOMMAI: Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state: (a) the specific measures taken/to be taken by the Government to prevent fraudulent carbon credit transactions in India’s evolving carbon market framework; (b) the manner in which the Government plans to balance economic growth with carbon reduction targets set for 2027 and 2030; (c) the mechanisms to be put in place to ensure private sector compliance with carbon reduction targets; and (d) the manner in which the Government plans to integrate learnings from international best practices discussed at Prakriti 2025 into India’s climate policy framework? A N S W E R THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER (SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK) (a) : As per Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), notified in June, 2023 (as amended), the Grid Controller of India is the registry for the Indian carbon market. In order to prevent fraudulent carbon credit transactions in Indian carbon market, the functions assigned to the registry for the Indian carbon market include maintaining secure data base and records of all transactions. This registry is also the meta-registry for India. (b) : The mandatory compliance of greenhouse gas emission intensity (GEI) targets under CCTS covers only emission intensive industries, designated as “Obligated Entities” whose annual energy consumption are above certain thresholds. Further, while finalizing the GEI targets for different obligatedentities, the marginal abatement cost of possible technological measures in the units of obligated entities are taken into consideration to ensure that such entities are given pragmatic and achievable targets. (c) : Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has published Detailed Procedure for Compliance Mechanism under CCTS in July 2024 which covers comprehensive Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework to ensure accurate, transparent, and credible compliance. An essential aspect of the MRV framework is the verification process, which requires annual verification of GHG emissions data. Further, the environmental compensation may be levied and penalty may be imposed under Environment Protection Act in case of non-compliance of GEI targets by obligated entities. (d) : An international conference on carbon markets titled “PRAKRITI” was held in February, 2025 at New Delhi wherein industries, financial institutions and other stakeholders participated to deliberate various aspects of carbon market, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction measures, financing for clean technologies etc. Learnings from this conference would enable the obligated entities to opt for the optimum measures to achieve GHG emission reduction targets. Further, learnings from this conference would also enable the Government optimize the policy framework of CCTS. ***********