On August 8, lawmakers in the Indian parliament’s lower house approved legislation aimed at amending the 2001 Energy Conservation Act to establish a domestic carbon market and encourage India to realize its own clean energy potential (AP, Jurist). Specifically, the bill would establish a minimum requirement for renewable energy use for residential buildings and corporations. Corporations that do not use the minimum amount of energy from renewable sources to power their operations would be subject to penalties. The bill would also grant clean energy users carbon-saving certificates that could be traded or sold. Speaking about the bill, Raj Kumar Singh, India’s Power and Renewable Energy Minister, said that firms would be banned from exporting carbon credits until the country meets its climate goals, noting that the nation’s carbon “credits will have to be generated by domestic companies, bought by domestic companies” (Bloomberg). 

Some experts consider the bill to be a positive step toward reaching the nation’s climate targets. “The share of clean energy sources powering India’s industries and homes will definitely increase as a result of this bill,” commented Madhura Joshi, who researches India’s energy transition at E3G, a climate change think tank (AP). The legislation will now move to the parliament’s upper house for a vote.