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India’s upcoming carbon market, expected to launch in 2026, is positioning biochar as a crucial technology to help reduce carbon dioxide levels.
 
What is Biochar?
 
Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced by the pyrolysis of biomass, such as wood chips, plant residues, or agricultural waste, in an oxygen-limited environment.
It is essentially a form of charcoal but designed for organic use, primarily as a soil amendment to improve soil health and fertility.
 
Key aspects of biochar include:
 

• Production: Biochar is created by heating organic biomass without oxygen (pyrolysis), which stabilizes the carbon and prevents it from quickly decomposing.

 

• Soil benefits: It enhances soil aeration, increases water and nutrient retention, reduces soil acidity, and decreases nutrient leaching. It also supports beneficial soil microbes by providing a habitat due to its porous structure.

 

• Environmental impact: Biochar can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the soil, such as nitrous oxide and methane, both potent greenhouse gases. Its stability allows it to sequester carbon in soils for hundreds to thousands of years, thus helping mitigate climate change.

 

• Uses: Besides soil amendment, biochar can be used in water treatment, land reclamation, and as an additive in animal fodder. It is noted for improving crop productivity especially in degraded soils and regions with limited water or fertilizers.

 
Biochar's significance comes from its dual role in improving soil quality and acting as a long-term carbon sink that contributes to sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation strategies.
 
How will India’s upcoming carbon market boost biochar adoption?
 
India’s upcoming carbon market, expected to launch in 2026, will significantly boost biochar adoption by creating a financial incentive for carbon removal through biochar production and use. The carbon market will enable biochar producers and users to earn carbon credits based on the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent their biochar sequesters.
 
Key ways the carbon market will drive biochar adoption include:
 
Economic incentives: Farmers and businesses involved in biochar production can generate revenue from selling carbon credits, offsetting costs and improving profitability.
 
Waste to value: The market emphasizes usage of agricultural residue (over 600 million metric tonnes annually), much of which is otherwise burnt, causing pollution. Turning this waste into biochar aligns with carbon trading goals.
 
Scaling impact: With anticipated coordinated policies, standardized carbon accounting, and monitoring frameworks, biochar projects can scale sustainably and transparently, attracting further investment.
 
Enhanced benefits: Besides carbon removal, biochar adoption through the carbon market supports sustainable agriculture by improving soil fertility, increasing crop yields by 10–30%, and reducing fertilizer dependency.
 
Market confidence: The carbon market framework provides credibility and a structured mechanism to monetize biochar’s environmental benefits, encouraging wider stakeholder participation including farmers, entrepreneurs, and investors.
 
In essence, India’s carbon market will help unlock the economic and environmental potential of biochar by integrating it into a formal carbon credit system, thus accelerating biochar production, application, and associated climate and agricultural benefits across the country.
 

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