new delhi, Oct. 3 -- India is in talks with Singapore, Sweden and South Korea to set up bilateral carbon crediting arrangements similar to the one it signed with Japan in August, said two government officials. Such agreements are meant to promote low-carbon projects, share emission reductions and advance the climate targets under the Paris Agreement. For India, these deals promise access to clean technology and climate finance while also strengthening economic and strategic ties. India signed its first such deal, called the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), with Japan on 7 August under the Paris Agreement, which allows countries to cooperate through voluntary carbon markets overseen by the United Nations (UN) climate framework. The initiative marks a shift from pilot projects to formalized partnerships on climate change mitigation, with the government aiming to position India as an active player when it comes to cross-border carbon trading. "We have signed JCM with Japan in August this year and are in talks with a few countries, such as Singapore, Sweden and South Korea for similar kind of bilateral agreements," said the first official. Queries emailed to the ministry of environment, forest and climate change remained unanswered till press time. The JCM operates under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, enabling bilateral trading of carbon credits at mutually agreed prices between governments. "The advantage is that the baselines, standards and methodologies for emissions reduction can be mutually agreed between the two governments, unlike Article 6.4 channel of the Paris Agreement, where standards of trading units, methodologies and accounting procedures are more stringent and supervised by the UNFCCC," said R.R. Rashmi, distinguished fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute. According to Rashmi, India may benefit by receiving investment in notified industries such as steel, biogas, hydrogen, power and carbon capture, utilisation and storage, where Japan may be keen to buy credits. On the possible gains from similar deals with other countries, Rashmi noted: "India would most likely be a seller of carbon credits at this stage. Hence any country that is willing to buy credits from India and pay the Indian industry for technology upgrades is welcome." He pointed out Sweden's advanced steelmaking technology and Singapore's large carbon trading platforms as potential advantages. Singapore is home to large and developed carbon trading platforms, which will allow demand for Indian units to go up. India has to be prepared to deduct such credits from its national inventory so as to avoid double counting of traded units, Rashmi added....