Why India’s carbon trading startups get little VC credit

Last year, the Indian government notified the country’s first domestic carbon trading policy—the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS).

Even before this, though, enterprising Indians have actively participated in the global carbon credit market and sold credits internationally. Between 2010 and June 2022, India issued 35.94 million carbon credits, as per official estimates, accounting for nearly a sixth of all voluntary carbon market credits issued globally.

India has also emerged as a fertile breeding ground for carbon trading companies. A number of startups, including the likes of New Delhi-based Climes and Gurugram-based Varaha, as well as major existing players such as EKI Energy, have developed technologies and platforms that enable businesses to quantify and reduce their carbon footprint. These ventures are focused either on developing projects that can generate carbon credits or providing supplemental tech to make underwriting these credits easier.