India’s Ministry of Commerce is reportedly weighing its options to counter EU’s planned carbon tax. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will introduce a monitoring mechanism for emissions from its imports and follow it up with a carbon-based tax from the beginning of 2026, and is expected to hit Indian exporters, particularly in the metals and engineering industry. As a part of these efforts, India has reportedly asked the EU to recognise its carbon credit trading scheme.
Details on green impact of projects now unavailable on govt’s website
The green ministry’s website Parivesh stopped displaying information on the environmental impact of the different projects the government was undertaking, HT reported. This has irked activists and environmentalists who relied on this information, which included details on green clearances.
The government, however, clarified to HT that some of the information will soon become available again after the Parivesh website undergoes a revamp. This will include details of meetings held by appraisal and forest advisory committees, information on forest and environment clearances. The clarification, however, did not say if information related to environment impact assessments (EIAs) or terms of reference (ToRs) will also be made available like before.
NGT stays green nod given to JSW projects in Odisha
In a major win for protestors, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) suspended the green clearance given to Jindal Steel Works (JSW) Utkal project at the Paradip port in Odisha. The EC was given to JSW for two interconnected projects—an integrated steel plant (which included cement and power plants) and a jetty project near Paradip port. While giving its order, the NGT said that while investment into the project was significant, the principle of sustainable development could not be ignored.
The land for this project was previously the proposed site for South Korean steel company POSCO’s project. But after a 10-year agitation, POSCO withdrew from the project in 2017. The Odisha government, however, gave the 1,253 hectares of land to JSW Utkal instead of handing it back to the local communities.
NGOs sue EU for including gas, nuclear in green taxonomy
Environmental campaigners are suing the EU for including nuclear and gas in its green investments guide. The legal actions—one filed by Greenpeace and another by a coalition that includes Client Earth and WWF—are being filed in the EU’s general court in Luxembourg. Greenpeace argued the EU’s taxonomy unlawfully designated gas and nuclear as bridge technologies.
The taxonomy aims to help the EU achieve its carbon neutrality by 2050 target. The other case challenges the inclusion of gas, which the petitioners say, violates the EU climate law that sets the net-zero by 2050 target.
China, Brazil unite in fight against illegal deforestation
China and Brazil joined hands to control illegal trade leading to deforestation. In a joint statement, both countries said they planned to do this by “effectively enforcing their respective laws on banning illegal imports and exports”. China is a major importer of Brazilian soy and crude petroleum along with being its largest trade exporter. Both countries also said they will enhance monitoring through the use of satellite information.
UN’s climate fund not taking enough risks, finds assessment
A performance review of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) found it was missing important issues, and was incoherent which made it difficult to understand who was responsible. The UN’s flagship fund was struggling to manage the risks in its climate-related projects, such as maladaptation. The review found the GCF to be too cautious of taking high-impact projects in poorer countries that are most affected by climate change. This assessment contradicts the commitment made by the GCF in 2016 to take more risks that other institutions were unable or unwilling to take.
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