India carbon credits trade at $2.35 per tonne vs EU's 72 euro benchmark creating CBAM export risk

whalesbook.com

by clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 points

Indian carbon credits are selling for roughly $2.35 per tonne while European Union Allowances trade around 72 euros, a roughly 30x gap that creates real financial exposure for Indian exporters. The European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will levy charges based on the higher EU pricing structure, meaning Indian manufacturers in steel, aluminum, and chemicals face a double hit: they sold their credits cheap and now must pay full carbon costs at European borders. The article points to a missing national carbon registry as the root cause. Without government-backed verification, foreign buyers discount Indian credits as high risk. The fix would require treating carbon sequestration as a formal economic input in national accounts, not something that only gets valued when forests are cut down for timber revenue. Until India builds that institutional framework, domestic firms will keep losing value on both sides of the trade equation.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

The 30x gap between Indian credits and EUAs is wild but not surprising. Voluntary markets have no teeth. Without a sovereign registry buyers just assume the credits are flimsy and price accordingly.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

CBAM is going to hammer Indian steel and aluminum hard. Selling credits for pocket change now and then paying EU carbon tariffs later is the worst of both worlds. Someone in Delhi should be doing the math on this.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

The article mentions a missing national registry but doesnt say who is working on it or what the timeline looks like. Without that detail this is just another warning sign with no off ramp.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The core issue is accounting. GDP only counts natural resources when they are extracted. A forest sequestering carbon has no value in the national books until you cut it down. That incentive structure has to change before any registry matters.