Carbon Credit Rate in India

Last reviewed: October 2026.

Key takeaways

One carbon credit represents one tonne of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e) reduced or removed.
There is no single official carbon credit rate in India yet: the compliance market (CCTS) has not started trading.
Credits from Indian projects mostly sell on the voluntary market. The 2024 average was US$6.34 per tonne (about ₹540)^[1].
Nature-based removals cost more: agroforestry about US$14 and blue carbon about US$29 per tonne in 2024^[1].
Price depends on project type, standard, verification, vintage, co-benefits and volume.
Tree projects take years to earn credits, because carbon must be grown, measured and verified first.

What is a carbon credit?

A carbon credit is a certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) that has been kept out of the atmosphere or removed from it. Projects earn credits by reducing emissions (for example, replacing diesel with solar power) or by removing carbon (for example, growing trees or applying biochar to soil).

A credit only exists once an independent verifier has checked the project against a published methodology and a registry has issued it with a unique serial number. When a company uses a credit to count against its own emissions, the credit is retired on the registry so it cannot be sold again.

In India, two kinds of credit matter today: credits issued under international voluntary standards such as Verra and Gold Standard, and Carbon Credit Certificates (CCCs) under India's own Carbon Credit Trading Scheme^[2]^[3].

What is the carbon credit rate in India today?

There is no single official carbon credit rate in India. India's compliance market, the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), has started setting obligations but has not yet started trading^[2]^[4]. Until it does, credits from Indian projects are sold mainly on the global voluntary carbon market, where prices are set deal by deal and quoted in US dollars.

The most widely used public benchmark is Ecosystem Marketplace's annual market report. It found an average voluntary market price of US$6.34 per tonne in 2024, about ₹540 at ₹85 per dollar, with the overall average down about 5.5% on the year and transaction volume down about 25%^[1].

Averages hide a wide range. Two credits for the same tonne can sell at very different prices depending on how the carbon was saved or removed, how well it is verified and who is buying.

Carbon credit prices by project type

Ecosystem Marketplace reports these average prices for 2024 transactions^[1]:

Credit type	Average price per tonne (2024)	Approx. in ₹
All voluntary credits (average)	US$6.34	≈ ₹540
REDD+ (avoided deforestation)	≈ US$7	≈ ₹600
Forestry and land use (average)	above US$9	above ₹765
Agroforestry	≈ US$14	≈ ₹1,190
Blue carbon	≈ US$29	≈ ₹2,465

Rupee values are converted at ₹85 per US$ for reference only. Forestry and land-use credits stayed above US$9 on average even as overall prices fell, and buyers paid clear premiums for removals and for projects with strong co-benefits such as agroforestry and blue carbon^[1].

Credits from older renewable energy and similar avoidance projects have generally traded at the lower end of the market, because many buyers now prefer newer projects and carbon removals^[1].

What drives the price of a carbon credit?

1. Removal or avoidance

Removal credits (tree planting, agroforestry, biochar) take carbon out of the air. Avoidance credits stop emissions from happening. Buyers increasingly pay more for removals.

2. Standard and verification

Credits issued under recognised standards, with transparent monitoring and third-party verification, sell above credits with weaker evidence. Labels such as the Integrity Council's Core Carbon Principles (CCP) are now used as a quality signal^[10].

3. Vintage

The vintage is the year the reduction or removal happened. Recent vintages usually fetch higher prices than old ones.

4. Permanence and risk

Forest carbon can be lost to fire, felling or drought, so standards require buffer pools and long-term monitoring. Projects with lower risk and longer commitments are valued more.

5. Co-benefits

Projects that also raise farmer incomes, support communities or restore biodiversity attract a premium from buyers who report on more than carbon.

6. Authorisation under Article 6

Credits authorised by a host country for international transfer under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, with a corresponding adjustment to that country's own accounts, can be used for national climate targets and may sell at a premium^[11].

7. Volume and buyer

Large, long-term purchase agreements are usually priced differently from small spot purchases.

Carbon markets in India explained

Voluntary carbon market

Companies buy credits verified under international standards such as Verra's Verified Carbon Standard or Gold Standard to meet their own climate goals. Indian project developers are among the largest suppliers to this market. Prices are in US dollars.

Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS)

India's compliance market, created under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022 and notified in 2023^[5]^[6]. It sets greenhouse-gas emission-intensity targets for energy-intensive industries. Entities that beat their target earn Carbon Credit Certificates; those that miss must buy and surrender them^[2]^[3]. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency administers the scheme^[5].

Offset mechanism

Alongside the compliance side, the Indian Carbon Market includes an offset mechanism under which projects outside the obligated sectors can register and earn credits^[3]^[5].

Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT)

India's earlier energy-efficiency trading scheme, in which industries traded Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts) on power exchanges. The CCTS builds on this experience and moves from energy savings to greenhouse-gas intensity^[5].

Green Credit Programme

A separate scheme under the Green Credit Rules, 2023 that rewards environmental actions such as tree planting on degraded land identified by forest departments with green credits. Green credits are not carbon credits and measure different things^[7].

CCTS timeline: when will carbon trading start in India?

When	Milestone
2022	Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act gives the government power to set up a carbon credit trading scheme^[6].
2023	Carbon Credit Trading Scheme notified^[3].
Oct 2025	Emission-intensity targets notified for aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali, and pulp and paper^[2].
Jan 2026	Targets notified for petroleum refining, petrochemicals and textiles^[2].
FY 2025-26	Compliance obligations in force for about 490 entities across seven sectors^[2].
Mar 2026	Central Electricity Regulatory Commission notifies regulations for trading Carbon Credit Certificates on power exchanges^[4].
2026	Trading is expected to begin once the first compliance filings have been assessed^[2]^[4].

Once trading starts, CCTS certificates will have their own market price in rupees, set on the power exchanges. That price may differ from voluntary credit prices because the two are used for different purposes.

How to calculate the value of carbon credits

The basic sum is simple:

Value = verified tonnes of CO₂e × price per tonne − project and transaction costs

Illustrative example (not a quote): an agroforestry project that has 1,000 verified and issued credits, sold at the 2024 agroforestry average of about US$14, would earn about US$14,000, roughly ₹11.9 lakh at ₹85 per dollar, before costs^[1].

Costs to subtract usually include project design, validation, monitoring, third-party verification, registry and issuance fees, and any broker margin. For tree projects, the number of tonnes depends on species, growth, survival and the methodology used, and credits arrive only after the trees have grown and been verified.

To estimate tonnes for a planned tree project, use our carbon credit estimator.

How tree planting and biochar earn carbon credits

Tree projects are removal projects: the trees take carbon dioxide out of the air as they grow. To turn that into credits, a project follows a published methodology, for example Verra's VM0047 for afforestation, reforestation and revegetation, or Gold Standard's afforestation and reforestation rules^[8]^[12].

Eligibility: the land and activity must qualify, and the project must be additional, meaning it would not have happened without carbon finance.
Design and validation: a project document sets the baseline, species, monitoring plan and risks; an independent body validates it.
Planting and monitoring: trees are planted, mapped and measured over time.
Verification: an independent verifier checks how much carbon has actually been stored.
Issuance and sale: the registry issues credits, which can then be sold and retired.

Because trees grow slowly, the first verified credits typically come several years after planting. Biochar projects, which turn crop residue into stable carbon added to soil, follow their own methodologies such as Verra's VM0044^[9].

At Grow Billion Trees every tree is geo-tagged and tracked on GreenTrack, with 85% survival across our programmes, which is the kind of monitoring record these methodologies require. See agroforestry and biochar.

How to buy carbon credits in India

Set your goal: offsetting residual emissions, a net-zero claim, or supporting impact. This decides the type of credit you need.
Choose the credit type: removals or avoidance, nature-based or technology, and whether you need credits authorised under Article 6.
Check quality: the standard, methodology, vintage, verification reports and any CCP label^[10].
Buy through a registry account, a broker or directly from a project.
Retire the credits on the registry in your company's name and keep the retirement record for your reports.

Companies that want their own project rather than market credits can fund plantation built for future verification. See carbon credits for companies.

How to sell carbon credits in India

Selling credits means first having a project that a standard will credit:

Confirm the activity and land are eligible under a methodology.
Prepare the project document and get it validated.
Register the project with a standard such as Verra or Gold Standard, or under the Indian Carbon Market's offset mechanism once it is open to your project type^[3]^[5].
Monitor, then get each period verified.
Receive issued credits in your registry account and sell them to buyers, directly or through brokers.

For industries covered by the CCTS, certificates earned by beating targets will be sold on the power exchanges once trading starts^[4].

Can farmers earn carbon credits? Yes, usually through a project developer that groups many farms into one agroforestry project, because measurement and verification are costly for a single small plot.

Checklist: is a carbon credit good quality?

Issued under a recognised standard and methodology.
Validation and verification reports are public.
Additional: the project would not have happened without carbon finance.
Conservative baseline and measurement.
Permanence risk handled with buffers and long-term monitoring.
No double counting: credits are retired once, and Article 6 authorisation is clear where needed^[11].
Real benefits for communities and nature, with safeguards.
Recent vintage and a traceable serial number on the registry.

Glossary

tCO₂e: One tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent; the unit for one credit.
Voluntary carbon market: Where companies buy credits for their own climate goals, outside any legal obligation.
CCTS: Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, India's compliance carbon market.
CCC: Carbon Credit Certificate issued under the CCTS.
ESCert: Energy Saving Certificate under India's PAT scheme.
Green credit: A credit under India's Green Credit Programme for environmental actions; not a carbon credit.
Removal / avoidance: Taking carbon out of the air versus preventing emissions.
REDD+: Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
ARR: Afforestation, reforestation and revegetation projects.
Blue carbon: Carbon stored in mangroves and other coastal ecosystems.
Vintage: The year in which a reduction or removal happened.
Retirement: Permanently using a credit on a registry so it cannot be resold.
MRV: Measurement, reporting and verification.
Corresponding adjustment: An accounting step under Article 6 that stops a credit being counted by two countries.
CCP: Core Carbon Principles, a quality label from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market.

Frequently asked questions

What is the carbon credit rate in India in 2026?

There is no single official rate. India's CCTS has not started trading, so credits from Indian projects mostly sell on the voluntary market. The latest public benchmark, for 2024, is an average of US$6.34 per tonne, about ₹540, with agroforestry around US$14 and blue carbon around US$29 (Ecosystem Marketplace).

1 carbon credit is equal to how many rupees?

One credit equals one tonne of CO₂e, not a fixed rupee amount. At the 2024 voluntary-market average of US$6.34 it is about ₹540 at ₹85 per US$; nature-based credits such as agroforestry averaged about US$14, roughly ₹1,190.

What is a carbon credit in India?

A certificate for one tonne of CO₂ equivalent reduced or removed, issued either under an international voluntary standard or, under India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, as a Carbon Credit Certificate.

When will carbon credit trading start in India?

Compliance obligations under the CCTS began in FY 2025-26 for about 490 entities in seven sectors, and CERC notified trading regulations in March 2026. Trading on power exchanges is expected after the first compliance filings are assessed.

How can I sell carbon credits in India?

Develop an eligible project, get it validated and registered with a standard such as Verra or Gold Standard (or the Indian offset mechanism when open to your project type), monitor and verify it, then sell the issued credits directly or through brokers.

How can a company earn carbon credits in India?

By running or funding a project that reduces or removes emissions and taking it through validation, registration, monitoring and verification, or, for industries covered by CCTS, by beating their emission-intensity target.

How do I buy carbon credits in India?

Decide what the credits are for, choose the type, check the standard, methodology, vintage and verification, buy through a registry account, broker or project, and retire the credits in your company's name.

How are carbon credits calculated?

A methodology sets how to measure the tonnes of CO₂e reduced or removed compared with a baseline. Value is then verified tonnes multiplied by the price, minus project and transaction costs.

Can farmers earn carbon credits in India?

Yes, usually through a project developer that combines many farms into one agroforestry or soil-carbon project, because measurement and verification are costly for a single plot.

Can tree plantation generate carbon credits?

Yes, if it follows an approved methodology such as Verra VM0047 or Gold Standard's afforestation rules, is additional, and is monitored and verified over several years before credits are issued.

Is carbon credit trading legal in India?

Yes. The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022 created the legal basis for India's carbon market, and Indian projects also sell credits on the international voluntary market.

What is the difference between a carbon credit and a green credit?

A carbon credit measures one tonne of CO₂e. A green credit under India's Green Credit Programme rewards environmental actions such as tree planting on degraded land; it is not a tonne of carbon.

What is a Carbon Credit Certificate (CCC)?

The tradable certificate issued under India's CCTS to entities that beat their emission-intensity targets, to be traded on power exchanges.

Which carbon credits get the highest price?

Removals and nature-based projects with strong co-benefits and verification. In 2024 blue carbon averaged about US$29 and agroforestry about US$14 per tonne, above the overall average of US$6.34.

How long does it take to get carbon credits from trees?

Usually several years: the trees must grow and be measured before verification, so the first credits come well after planting.

Does Grow Billion Trees sell carbon credits at these prices?

No. The prices on this page are published market averages for reference. We plant and track tree projects, including projects built for future verification; talk to our team about your goals.