India must strengthen carbon markets as EU CBAM reshapes trade: Industry

Dr Jatinder Singh, Deputy Secretary General, PHDCCI, said that the European Union's CBAM has made carbon competitiveness a permanent determinant of global market access. He highlighted that the EU, India's third-largest trading partner with bilateral goods trade of nearly €118 billion, is a key destination for Indian exports in sectors such as iron & steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers.

India's steel and aluminium exports to Europe have already witnessed pressure, signalling the urgency for industry to strengthen emissions monitoring and carbon reporting systems, he noted.

MSMEs require urgent support through technology adoption, affordable verification infrastructure, cleaner energy access and simplified reporting mechanisms.

He further called for strengthening India's carbon pricing framework, accelerating industrial decarbonisation and building robust institutional capacity for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) to ensure India's long-term competitiveness in global trade.

Satyaki Rastogi, Chief General Manager, SIDBI stressed the need for coordinated policy interventions, common testing and certification facilities, awareness and capacity-building programmes, and affordable financing solutions to facilitate the transition. 

Saurabh Diddi, Director, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, announced that draft compliance targets for the steel sector under the CCTS have been released for public consultation, while trading under the Indian Carbon Market is expected to commence by October 2026, creating a domestic ecosystem to support industrial decarbonisation and reduce compliance costs.