Carbon credit mechanisms for sustainable agriculture and opportunities in North East India

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the major cause of global warming, which threatens ecosystems, agricultural sustainability, and human well-being worldwide and thus requires immediate, science-based mitigation measures. Carbon credits have become a vital tool in market-based solutions, increasing the cost of emissions and compensating for emission reductions, thereby promoting environmentally friendly technologies and creating economic opportunities that support livelihoods based on agriculture. In developing countries such as India, agriculture plays a dual role: both a significant emitter and a potential carbon sink, capable of contributing meaningfully to climate change mitigation and rural development. Using an integrated review-based analytical framework grounded entirely in secondary data, the paper critically examines greenhouse gas emission trends, carbon market architectures, biophysical carbon quantification models, and economic valuation approaches in India, with particular emphasis on the North Eastern Region (NER). The study examines the phases of carbon generation, carbon pricing frameworks, and the integration of sustainable agricultural practices that allow farmers to access carbon markets. The case studies, such as the Khasi Hills Community Carbon Project and the EKA initiative, illustrate how carbon farming initiatives are designed to generate measurable emission reductions under established verification frameworks. However, limitations include monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) constraints, policy gaps, and limited farmer awareness. The study highlights that carbon credit mechanisms have the potential to support emission reduction while contributing to agricultural sustainability, with implications for farm-level income diversification, low-carbon farming, and sustainable economic growth in the Indian agricultural sector.