India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS): how it works
A plain guide to India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme: the law, who runs it, sector targets for 490 entities, the offset mechanism, CERC trading rules and the link to PAT.
How does CCTS link to the PAT scheme?
The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, run by BEE, set energy efficiency targets for energy-intensive "designated consumers" and allowed trading of energy saving certificates. The CCTS moves from energy savings to greenhouse gas intensity, and BEE states that PAT will gradually transition into the compliance mechanism. Aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali, petrochemicals, petroleum refineries, pulp and paper, and textiles have moved across (PIB, 4 December 2025). BEE credits PAT units with saving over 106 million tonnes of CO2 (BEE, 2026).
Sources: Bureau of Energy Efficiency: Indian Carbon Market (CCTS) page; BEE: Detailed Procedure for Compliance Mechanism under the Indian Carbon Market; PIB (MoEFCC), 22 January 2026: Government notifies GHG Emission Intensity Targets for 208 more carbon-intensive industries; PIB (Ministry of Power), 28 March 2025: India's Carbon Offset Plan; PIB (Ministry of Power), 4 December 2025: Framework for CCTS established; PIB (Ministry of Power): Year End Review 2025; PIB (Ministry of Power), 21 March 2026: Prakriti 2026 and Indian Carbon Market Portal launch; CERC (Terms and Conditions for Purchase and Sale of Carbon Credit Certificates) Regulations, 2026; CERC: Current Regulations index; PIB: Cabinet approves India's Nationally Determined Contribution (2031-2035) (25 March 2026)
This article was prepared with AI assistance and checked by the GreenEye team against the sources shown in each section.
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