GCC, TERI Partner to Develop India’s First Digital Carbon Marketplace for Clean Energy Projects
Global Carbon Council and The Energy and Resources Institute have signed an MoU to develop India’s first digital carbon marketplace for household and livelihood-based clean energy projects under the LaBL 2.0 programme.
March 05, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey
Under the MoU, GCC and TERI will jointly explore the development of a fully digital Energy Access and Carbon Marketplace or integrate LaBL 2.0 projects into GCC’s World Bank-supported ASCENT Energy Access Portal.
The platform will allow the aggregation of household and small-business projects to generate carbon credits through robust Digital MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) systems, lowering transaction costs and ensuring high efficiency, transparency, traceability, and environmental integrity from registration to credit issuance and retirement.
The MoU was formalised by Dr Yousef Alhorr, Founding Chairman, GCC, and Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, marking a strategic partnership aimed at unlocking carbon finance for Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) solutions such as solar lighting, clean cooking technologies, and productive-use appliances in rural and underserved communities across India for livelihood purposes.
This collaboration will provide a new pathway for community-scale projects to participate in high-integrity international carbon markets by transforming small-scale, household-level climate action into measurable, verified, and tradable carbon credits and avail carbon finance for projects benefiting poor communities, said TERI in a statement.
By linking LaBL 2.0 projects with GCC’s global carbon market infrastructure, the partnership will enable small household and livelihood interventions to generate internationally recognised carbon credits, turning everyday clean energy actions into climate assets while strengthening the financial sustainability of rural and community-based energy projects, it said.
The initiative includes structured engagement with key Indian government institutions to explore potential recognition of LaBL 2.0 carbon credits under compliance carbon markets e.g. Article 6.2.
TERI will serve as the national focal point for the Energy Access Program in India under LaBL 2.0. GCC and TERI, tasked with specific responsibilities, shall jointly operate the program and conduct capacity-building activities for participating households and micro-enterprises.
These capacity-building initiatives will equip communities with the knowledge, skills, and tools required to implement projects, participate in carbon markets, and ensure the long-term sustainability of clean energy and livelihood interventions.
Dr Yousef Alhorr, Founding Chairman, Global Carbon Council, said, “Our partnership with TERI represents a decisive step toward making carbon markets work for people at the grassroots level. By combining the Global Carbon Council’s digital Carbon Market Infrastructure (CMI) and ASCENT Energy Access Program Portal with TERI’s deep expertise in energy access and livelihoods, we are creating a scalable model that transforms household clean energy actions into verified climate assets. This initiative aims to establish how digital and efficient carbon markets drive economic growth at lower strata of society while maintaining the highest standards of environmental integrity.”
Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, highlighted, “LaBL 2.0 reflects TERI’s commitment to move beyond energy access toward energy-enabled livelihoods. Through the collaboration with GCC, we aim to channel carbon finance into women-led enterprises, rural micro-industries, and community infrastructure, ensuring that climate action translates into tangible social and economic benefits. This partnership will help position India as a global leader in people-centred carbon market innovation.”
Beyond India, the GCC-TERI collaboration is designed as a replicable model for other developing countries seeking to connect household-scale climate action with international carbon markets through digital systems and high-integrity standards.
please contact: contact@energetica-india.net.
Ratul Puri
Chairman
Geopolitics Reshaping Solar Strategy, Says Hindustan Power's Chairman Ratul Puri
Bhavesh Patidar
Founder and Director
Solar Shifts Farming from Constraint to Opportunity, Says Solarsure’s Bhavesh Patidar
Pankaj Tyagi
VP - Solar and Storage
Solar Plus Storage Is Key to India’s Clean Energy Future: BluPine’s Pankaj Tyagi
Ravi Rao
Founder and MD
We Aim to Build 5 GW Capacity Across the Entire Solar Value Chain, Says Future Solar's Ravi Rao
Manish Gupta
Director – Technical Sales & Marketing
Solar to BESS: Reliability Begins with Advanced Sealants, Explains Manish Gupta, Fasto Adhesive