Of late, provincial EPAs (Environment Protection Agencies) have been running amok, penalising and sealing businesses, harassing owners, extorting fees and graft, and disrupting production without any regard to market-cum-global realities on the subject and, more importantly, to any type of reciprocity when enforcing emission and effluent laws, which, ironically, by themselves are far removed from practical implementation in a fair and transparent manner. To exacerbate issues, unchecked and draconian powers handed over to a bureaucracy that has little knowledge on the subject and lacks any kind of international exposure to finding workable environmental solutions and trade-offs go on to add to industrial frustration and departmental corruption; an element already a key factor in the ongoing de-industrialisation of the country.

Over the past decade, countries have taken positions on climate change, in turn leading to their businesses committing themselves to the endeavour in order to meet national and global expectations: factories, airlines, banks, tech giants, and consumer brands have pledged to reach “net zero”, promising to bring their greenhouse gas emissions down to nothing — or close to it — by some future date (commonly referred to in corporate terms as ESG - Environment, Social, and Governance). But the ground reality remains that only a few companies can actually eliminate all of their emissions. Some activities - textile manufacturing, leather processing, flying planes, making........

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