Earthshot Prize Names State of Gujarat a Finalist

For Groundbreaking Work on Air Pollution

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Researchers affiliated with the Emissions Market Accelerator helped the Indian state of Gujarat design and launch the world's first particulate pollution market. That project is now a finalist for the world's most prestigious and impactful environmental award, The Earthshot Prize.

The Earthshot Prize recognized the Emissions Market Accelerator (EMA)—a groundbreaking initiative that helps governments in the Global South design and implement market solutions to reduce pollution and foster economic growth—as the implementation partner of the Indian state of Gujarat, one of three Clean Our Air finalists for the 2025 award. EMA-affiliated researchers worked with the Gujarat Pollution Control Board to design and deploy the world’s first cap-and-trade market for particulate pollution in the city of Surat. Through an experiment conducted by the researchers, the pilot market was found to have dramatically raised compliance with the law, sharply reduced particulate pollution, and increased industry profits. The Emissions Market Accelerator is a joint initiative of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).

Michael Greenstone, co-chair of the EMA and one of the researchers who led the Gujarat emissions market experiment, says, "We are beyond thrilled that the Earthshot Prize has recognized our partners in Gujarat and the Emissions Market Accelerator as a finalist for their prestigious award. For decades, emissions markets were seen as something that was almost exclusively a regulatory tool for the US, EU, and other rich countries. The Gujarat market serves as an important proof of concept that emissions markets can work beyond these regions. In fact, markets are uniquely well positioned to help countries where economic growth is an urgent priority and where much of the world’s pollution and greenhouse gas burden exists today."