Rajya Sabha passes Bill to set up carbon credit trading scheme

While replying to the discussion on the Bill, Power Minister R K Singh said India had taken the lead when it came to energy transition, leaving developed countries “defensive”. He added that while India was doing its best, he had doubts about developed countries doing the same and he did not see any “concrete action” from them.

Responding to concerns raised by several MPs about who would regulate carbon credit trading, the Minister said the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) would be the regulator and that the carbon price would be determined by the market.

He added that though the Bill covered large buildings — those with connected load of 100 kilowatt and above — for compliance with energy conservation and sustainability codes, states had been empowered to lower the threshold to include a wider section of buildings. The implementation would be through the building by-laws, he said.

During the discussion, several MPs raised concerns about the Power Ministry shepherding the Bill instead of the Environment Ministry. DMK member P Wilson said the Environment Ministry had the expertise, while Aam Aadmi Party MP Sandeep Pathak said one ministry alone could not implement the Bill. In response, Singh said the governing body proposed in the Bill would be headed by the Environment Ministry official and include members from across relevant ministries.

YSRCP member S Niranjan Reddy said the Bill did not go far enough, terming it “a little timid in its reach”.

He said the Bill did not make a provision for those under the 100KW threshold who want to voluntarily submit to the energy conservation mechanism. CPI-M member V Sivadasan said the Bill had enhanced the power of the Union government, promoting the “tendency towards centralisation”. RJD member Manoj Kumar Jha and Binoy Viswam of the CPI wanted that the Bill be sent to a Standing Committee for further discussion.