PRAKRITI 2025

The International Conference on Carbon Markets, Prakriti 2025, recently concluded successfully.

• About Prakriti 2025: Organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Objective: Served as a platform for in-depth discussions on global carbon market trends, challenges, and future pathways.
• About Carbon Market: A system for buying and selling the right to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.
• Carbon Credits: Governments issue carbon credits, where 1 credit = 1,000 kg of CO2 emissions.
• Purpose: Limits total carbon emissions by restricting the number of credits issued.
• Trading Mechanism:

o Excess Emission: Firms exceeding their quota must buy additional credits.

o Low Emission: Firms emitting less can sell unused credits.

o Incentive: Creates a financial push for emission reduction.

• Origin: Concept first emerged in the 1990s (U.S.) to regulate sulphur dioxide emissions using a cap-and-trade model.
• Expansion: Now includes carbon offsets, where businesses fund environmental projects (e.g., tree planting) to compensate for emissions.