India vehicle scrappage carbon credits: how old cars become net zero offsets for companies

India's vehicle scrappage policy is being positioned as a way for companies to generate carbon credits by retiring old, polluting vehicles and replacing them with cleaner models. The idea is that scrapping an older internal combustion engine car reduces emissions compared to keeping it on the road, and that reduction can be quantified and sold as a carbon credit. The article frames this as a circular economy move that helps corporations meet net zero targets while also cleaning up India's vehicle fleet. The key question is how these credits are measured and verified. The emissions reduction depends on the baseline assumption of how long the old vehicle would have stayed in use and how much it would have emitted. If the methodology is weak, the credits could be overestimated. The policy also needs to ensure that scrapped vehicles are actually destroyed and not resold or exported to another market where they continue polluting. Without strong monitoring, the environmental benefit is uncertain. For corporate buyers, these credits could be a cheaper domestic offset option compared to international carbon credits. But the real climate impact depends on rigorous accounting and enforcement. If India gets the methodology right, this could be a practical model for other developing countries looking to cut transport emissions while funding the transition to cleaner vehicles.