This paper looks at the ways in which clean energy is being governed in India. It analyses and seeks to explain the nature of governance arrangements and policy-making processes around the development of energy sources and technologies defined as ‘clean’ both by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and beyond. Such an analysis requires an assessment of governance processes across a number of scales from global to local involving actors such as the World Bank, different parts of the Indian national government and federal states, and an array of market makers and non-state actors that play a role in mobilizing finance and political and institutional support for clean energy. The paper finds that the political barriers to uptake of clean energy in India run deeper than both carbon markets and the scope of technocratic or managerial reform programs. By considering the political nature of clean energy governance in India, opportunities arise to ensure that the CDM is aligned with potentially more significant domestic initiatives and political relationships. Governance and politics are integral to ensuring this coherence and to managing the potential trade-offs between energy security, alleviation of energy poverty and addressing climate change in industrializing countries such as India.