Legal Remedies And Institutional Design To Prevent Fraud And Double-Counting In India's Emerging Carbon Market
- IJLLR Journal
- 9 hours ago
- 1 min read
Kumar Kartikeya, PhD Scholar (Law), Research Scholar, Department of Law, NIMS, University
Dr Falak Bashir, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, NIMS University
ABSTRACT
The emergence of carbon markets has transformed greenhouse gas emissions reductions into tradable economic assets capable of facilitating climate mitigation while promoting cost-efficient decarbonisation. India's transition towards a formal carbon market under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022 represents a significant development in domestic climate governance and positions the country to participate more actively in international carbon trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. However, the credibility of any carbon market depends upon the integrity of the carbon credits that circulate within it. Concerns regarding fraudulent credit generation, double issuance, double claiming, inaccurate verification, registry manipulation, and cross-border accounting inconsistencies threaten both environmental objectives and market confidence. This paper examines the legal and institutional safeguards necessary to ensure the integrity of India's emerging carbon market. Through doctrinal legal analysis and comparative examination of the European Union Emissions Trading System and major voluntary carbon standards, the paper argues that India should adopt a comprehensive framework combining statutory recognition of carbon credits as transferable incorporeal property, a single authoritative registry, enhanced monitoring and verification requirements, verifier liability, and robust administrative, civil, and criminal remedies. Such reforms would strengthen market integrity, improve investor confidence, and ensure compliance with international accounting obligations under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
