Project Title : Emissions Trading Scheme

Organization Description:

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center dedicated to reducing poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. J-PAL South Asia, based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in Chennai, focuses on generating and disseminating research results and building partnerships with policymakers and implementers across India. J-PAL South Asia works to ensure that policy is driven by evidence and that programs proven effective are scaled up.

J-PAL s Setting, Energy, Climate Change sector measures the real-world impacts of energy and environmental policies, particularly on energy access, pollution reduction, and climate change mitigation and resilience.

Project Description:

J-PAL South Asia at IFMR and Energy Policy Institute of Chicago (EPIC) launched the Emissions Market Accelerator in 2025 as an initiative to scale emissions markets in the global south.



The EMA is currently establishing three cap-and-trade markets with Indian government partners, driven by high demand following a successful pilot with Gujarat s pollution control board. The Gujarat experiment, lead by Prof. Michael Greenstone (University of Chicago), Prof. Rohini Pande (Yale University), Prof. Nicholas Ryan (Yale University), and Prof. Anant Sudarshan (University of Warwick), created the world s first particulate pollution market, proving that market based environmental regulations can increase legal compliance and reduce emissions in a cost effective manner.

Following the success of the market for air pollution, the Government of Gujarat has also decided to test and evaluate a market for industrial effluents. Effluents Market is being piloted in Surat, Gujarat and is a collaborative effort between the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, South Gujarat Textile Association, Common Effluent Treatment Plants, and all stakeholders associated with the EMA. The res

📌 Research Manager (New Delhi)
🏢 Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
📍 New Delhi