Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022
- Recently the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
- This bill was first passed by the Lok Sabha. By this the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 will be amended.
The Bill will serve the following objectives:
- COP – 26 will help in achieving the goals;
- Tackling climate change will encourage the development of renewable energy and domestic carbon markets;
- Concepts like carbon credit trading can be introduced to ensure rapid decarbonization of the Indian economy, etc.
Key provisions of the Bill
- Carbon Trading: The Bill empowers the central government to introduce a carbon credit trading scheme.
Carbon credits are a tradable permit. It allows a company to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.
Obligation to use non-fossil sources of energy:
- The government may mandate certain specified consumer groups to obtain a minimum essential portion of energy consumption from non-fossil sources.
- Provisions have been made for energy conservation and sustainable building codes for green buildings.
- In the 2001 Act, the code was restricted to commercial buildings meeting certain criteria.
- In the present Bill, office and residential buildings have also been brought under the ambit of this Code.
Standards for vehicles and ships:
- The Bill expands its scope to include vehicles (as defined under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988) and vessels (including ships and boats).
- The number of members in the Governing Council of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has been increased.
Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)
- The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is a statutory body established under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 under the Ministry of Power.
- It helps in developing developmental policies and strategies with the primary objective of reducing the energy surplus of the Indian economy.
Source – The Hindu
