India to develop carbon credit trading scheme, develop Indian Carbon Market (ICM) to decarbonise economy

Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Abhay Bakre has said that an ICM will enable creation of a competitive market to provide incentives to climate actors to adopt low-cost options by attracting technology and finance towards sustainable projects that generate carbon credits.

The ICM will enable the creation of a competitive market that can provide incentives to climate actors to adopt low-cost options by attracting technology and finance towards sustainable projects that generate carbon credits.

Pointing out that ICM can also be a vehicle to mobilize a significant portion of investments required by the Indian economy to transition towards low-carbon pathways, Bakre added that specific guidance will be given to develop a MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) process for GHG emissions as well as define eligibility criteria for Accredited Carbon Verifiers (ACVs).

The ICM aims to develop methodologies for estimation of reduction in carbon emissions reductions, and for verification, registration, validation and issuance processes to operationalize the scheme.

MRV guidelines for the emissions scheme will also be developed after consultation, and a comprehensive institutional and governance structure will be set up with specific roles of each party involved in the execution of the ICM.

The ICM will also intend to mobilise new mitigation opportunities through demand for emission credits by private and public entities. The Power Ministry feels that a well-designed and competitive carbon market mechanism will enable the reduction of GHG emissions at the least cost, both at the level of entity as well as the overall sector, and will drive faster adoption of clean technologies in India. The ICM aims to achieve the NDC goal of reducing Emissions Intensity of the GDP by 45% by 2030 against 2005 levels.