India: Environmental Law

The global imperative to combat climate change has catalysed the development of robust market-based mechanisms for carbon emissions reduction, and India has progressively aligned itself with this international...

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India ("MNRE") on February 25, 2026 issued the draft guidelines for quantifying greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions from offsite water drawal and treatment, for stakeholder comments until March 13, 20262. These guidelines inter alia provide for benchmark emission factors along with a mechanism for allocation/ determination of emissions during water treatment systems in order to ensure compliance with the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India3 and alignment with ISO 19870:2023.

The National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench, in Renu Bala v. MoEF&CC & Ors.1, delivered a decisive ruling reinforcing that prior Environmental Clearance (EC) under the EIA Notification...

The concept emerged from international climate architecture - first under the Kyoto Protocol, 1997, which introduced market-based mechanisms such as the Clean Development Mechanism, allowing developed countries to offset emissions by investing in reduction projects in developing nations, and subsequently under the Paris Agreement, 2015, which commits signatory nations to achieving their self-declared Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) towards limiting global temperature rise.

The Ministry of Environment has notified the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026...

The Supreme Court of India delivered a significant judgment in Harbinder Singh Sekhon & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Ors., adjudicated by a Division Bench. The judgment addresses two interrelated but distinct questions...

On 27th October 2025, the Ministry of Coal initiated consultation with stakeholders on Mining Plan Guidelines for Coal and Lignite 2025 ("Guidelines"), inviting comments until 26th November 2025.

The Supreme Court's November 2025 ruling on the Aravalli range has started widespread debate, with critics arguing that it weakens environmental safeguards by permitting certain mining activities to continue.

The legal framework governing the Aravalli hills has undergone a profound transformation not through parliamentary amendment or executive notification, but through judicial interpretation.