Power Ministry introduces Bill to establish Carbon market in India

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate change

Power Minister RK Singh on Wednesday introduced the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in Parliament, which provides for setting up Carbon markets.
Besides, the Bill also seeks to mandate the use of non-fossil sources, including green hydrogen, green ammonia, biomass and ethanol, for energy and feedstock.
Other amendments in the Bill include bringing large residential buildings within the fold of the energy conservation regime, enhancing the scope of Energy Conservation Building Code, and strengthening the governing council of Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill aims to make it mandatory for buildings with a minimum connected load of 100 kW to meet their energy requirements from renewable sources By adopting energy efficiency measures

Bureau of Energy Efficiency

The BEE is a statutory body established through the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 under the Union Ministry of Power.
It assists in developing policies and strategies with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy.
BEE coordinates with designated consumers, designated agencies, and other organizations to identify and utilize the existing resources and infrastructure, in performing its functions.
It functions under Ministry of Power.

Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017:

Developed by Ministry of Power and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), ECBC 2017 prescribes the energy performance standards for new commercial buildings to be constructed across India.
It sets minimum energy standards for new commercial buildings having a connected load of 100kW (kilowatt) or contract demand of 120 KVA (kilovolt-ampere) and above.
The EC Act of 2001 gives the Central Government Government authority, but the state governments are free to adapt the code to meet unique local or regional requirements and to notify the Central Government of any changes.
ECBC 2017 was developed by BEE with technical support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the U.S.-India bilateral Partnership to Advance Clean Energy – Deployment Technical Assistance (PACE-DTA) Program.

Eco Niwas Samhita 2021:

It is an Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Buildings (ECBC-R) to give a further fillip to India’s energy conservation efforts.
It specifies code compliance approaches and minimum energy performance requirements for building services, and verification framework with Eco Niwas Samhita 2021.