Indian Energy Exchange forms subsidiary to explore business in carbon market
Dec 27, 2022
New Delhi [India], December 27 : Energy exchange platform Indian Energy Exchange on Tuesday said it has incorporated a subsidiary to explore business opportunities in the voluntary carbon market.
The wholly-owned subsidiary company is named International Carbon Exchange Private Limited (ICX).
According to a statement by IEX, the new entity will enable participants to buy and sell voluntary carbon credits at competitive prices through its platform and facilitate the reduction of global Greenhouse Gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 to get on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
The recently concluded COP27 reiterated the need to ramp-down GHG emissions. India had set a target of Net Zero emissions by 2070.
"With our earlier diversification initiative, Indian Gas Exchange, transforming the Gas market in the country, we continue to sustainably transition India's energy market through efficient and asset-light businesses. Establishing a transparent and reliable carbon trading platform is an important step towards achieving global as well as national sustainability aspirations," said SN Goel, Chairman and Managing Director of IEX.
Additionally, ICX will facilitate corporates to meet their climate commitments goals by providing a robust market signal for attracting further investments in sustainable projects and help corporates to allocate capex (capital expenditure) towards energy transition in the most optimum manner.
As per industry estimates, the annual demand for voluntary carbon credit globally is expected to reach around 1.5 gigatons, with India contributing around 200 million tonnes by 2030, IEX said.
Voluntary carbon markets are markets where carbon credits are purchased, usually by organizations, for voluntary use rather than to comply with legally binding emissions reduction obligations. Voluntary carbon markets are growing, driven in part by demand from businesses looking to 'offset' their emissions.
