Policy Makers Must Be Attuned To Ground Realities: Supreme Court Directs Power Ministry, CEA & CERC To File Joint Plan For Emission Reduction In Power Sector
The Court said all stakeholders in the power sector must be brought together to implement a comprehensive and coherent regime for emission reduction, and directed the Power Ministry, CEA, and CERC to jointly frame an action plan.
Justice P.S. Narasimha, Justice Atul S. Chandurkar, Supreme Court
The Supreme Court directed the Ministry of Power to convene a joint meeting with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and file a joint affidavit outlining the legal regime and actionable plan for reducing emissions in the power generation sector. The Court emphasised the need for coordinated efforts between policy-makers, regulators, and generators to implement meaningful environmental compliance.
A Bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar observed, “The cause before us is an environmental one. It concerns the environment and the adverse effects of pollution caused by carbon emissions due to the process of power generation. It is necessary that all stakeholders must be connected for the implementation of a comprehensive and coherent regime that will contribute to the larger climate goals.”
The Court added, “It is therefore necessary to connect those involved in the process of power generation, transmission and distribution as well as the regulators. It is equally necessary to ensure that the policy makers are attuned with ground realities and the difficulties of the regulatory and executory machinery.”
Advocate Rahul Choudhary appeared for the Appellant, while Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee and Senior Advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi represented the Respondents.
Brief Facts
The petition filed by a minor climate activist had earlier led the Court, on February 21, 2025, to declare that “climate change is an existential crisis which, if left unaddressed, may threaten human existence.” In continuation, the Court called for reports from the Union Government and Amici Curiae focusing on emissions from power generation and coal-fired thermal plants.
The Amici flagged the significant contribution of the power sector to national carbon emissions, noting that coal-based thermal power plants in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh were among the major defaulters near the NCR. It was pointed out that only 8% of required Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) installations had been completed, despite phased deadlines.
The Government responded, citing progress on India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), including a 36% reduction in emission intensity since 2005 and a 4.8-fold increase in renewable energy capacity since 2014.
Reasoning of the Court
The Court observed that the focus must now shift from broad climate principles to enforceable structural mechanisms within the power sector. Emphasising the failure of isolated efforts, the Bench held that fragmented regulatory action would be ineffective unless coordinated with those responsible for generation and execution.
The Bench said, “The cause before us is an environmental one. It concerns the environment and the adverse effects of pollution caused by carbon emissions due to the process of power generation. It is necessary that all stakeholders must be connected for the implementation of a comprehensive and coherent regime that will contribute to the larger climate goals.”
It added, “We are of the considered view that a policy of coordinated and cooperative environmental federalism needs to be devised for systematically and consistently implementing short term and long-term goals.”
Accordingly, the Court directed, “We deem it necessary to direct Central Electricity Authority constituted under Section 70 of the Electricity Act, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission constituted under Section 76 to be impleaded as party respondent to the present proceedings.”
It further directed the Ministry of Power to convene a joint meeting of the Central Electricity Authority and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and file a joint affidavit indicating legal regime for this purpose and the plan of action.
The Court made it clear that it expects this affidavit to provide specific steps, coordination mechanisms, and timelines for the enforcement of emission standards in thermal power generation.
The matter was directed to be listed on August 19, 2025, with the joint affidavit to be filed within four weeks. The Court clarified that it seeks a focused institutional response involving both regulators and implementing agencies within the power sector.
Cause Title: Ridhima Pandey v. Union of India & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 388/2021)
Appearance
Appellant: AOR Srishti Agnihotri; Advocates Rahul Choudhary, Itisha Awasthi, Sanjana Grace Thomas, D.P. Singh, Tara Elizabeth Kurien
Respondents: ASG Vikramjit Banerjee; AORs Gurmeet Singh Makker, Ashutosh Dubey, Gaichangpou Gangmei; Senior Advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi, Advocates Nachiketa Joshi, Ayush Anand, Ruchi Kohli, Raman Yadav, Rajshri Dubey, Abhishek Chauhan, Amit P Shahi, Rajendra Anbhule, Rahul Sethi, Chanda Trikha, Sudhir Mishra, Jatinder (jay) Cheema, Petal Chandhok, Ritwika Nanda, Swasti Mishra, Ashish Bassi, Amrita Narayan, Molshree Bhatnagar, Shaida Das, Harshit Dhamija, Sukanya Lal
Amici Curiae: Advocates Sudhir Mishra, Jatinder (Jay) Cheema
