How India plans to set up energy saving game

• Government introduced Energy conservation Bill in Lok Sabha to amend Energy Conservation Act of 2001

Objectives of the Bill

• It seeks to make it compulsory for a select group of industrial, commercial and even residential consumers to use green energy. By A prescribing a minimum proportion of the energy they use must come from renewable or non-fossil fuel sources.
• It seeks to establish a domestic carbon market and facilitate trade in carbon credits.

Energy conservation initiative under Energy Conservation Act of 2001:

• Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE): Statutory body to promote the use of more efficient processes and equipment in order to save energy.
• The act defined standards for energy conservation and efficiency to be followed by a select group of industries and commercial complexes. Efficiency standards were also prescribed for equipment and appliances like air conditioners or refrigerators.
• Set up of Energy conservation Fund by Centre and State government:

Significant features of The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022

• Prescribed energy consumption standard for vehicles and vessels:
• It empowers the government to prohibit the manufacture or import of any vehicles or water vessels if it does not conform to the prescribed energy standards.
• The failure to comply with standards will result into penalty.
• Energy conservation code for buildings: The Act empowers the central government to specify energy conservation code for buildings.
• This new code will provide norms for energy efficiency and conservation, use of renewable energy, and other requirements for green buildings
• Every such building would have to ensure that at least a part of its total energy consumption comes from renewable or non-fossil fuel sources. This would help in reducing the proportion of fossil-fuel based energy being used in the economy and push the demand for renewable or other non-fossil fuels.
• Carbon trading market: The creation of a domestic carbon market is one of the most significant provisions of the proposed amendment Bill.
• Carbon markets allow the trade of carbon credits with the overall objective of bringing down emissions.
• The Bill empowers the central government to specify a carbon credit trading scheme. Carbon credit implies a tradeable permit to produce a specified amount of carbon emissions.
• However, the new carbon market that is proposed to be created through this amendment to the Energy Conservation Act, would be much wider in scope
• Obligation to use non-fossil sources of energy for industries, transport and commercial buildings:
• Government to specify energy consumption standards. The Bill adds that the government may require the designated consumers to meet a minimum share of energy consumption from non-fossil sources. Different consumption thresholds may be specified for different non-fossil sources and consumer categories.