PMO wants mass rapid bus transport to take CDM route

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked the urban development ministry to follow the clean development mechanism (CDM) for all mass rapid transport projects which can avail of carbon credits. The directive has come after the government announced the setting up a task force to look into climate change. The CDM of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) enables candidates in developing countries like India and China that have no mandatory obligation to reduce their green house gas (GHG) emissions to implement CDM projects that reduce emissions.

By reducing emissions, one can encash the results by claiming carbon credits. With each tonne of carbon dioxide reduced, one carbon credit is claimed. Such carbon credits are traded with companies or organisations in a developed country at rates ranging between $6-16 per carbon credit.

A review done by the government shows that while India is the second-largest claimant of carbon credits, this is almost entirely in the private sector. The PMO has asked the urban development ministry to work in tandem with the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) that gives country approval for carrying out CDM projects. So far, 513 projects with the potential to generate about 355 million Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) have been given MoEF approval.

The projects range from energy efficiency, fuel switching, industrial processes, municipal solid waste to renewable energy.The PMO has asked the ministry of urban development to co-opt an official dealing with CDM in the MoEF or alternatively develop a template through MoEF to guide such projects that can avail of CDM-related credits. In response to the PMO note, an official in the ministry said: “In terms of getting carbon credits, the government departments progress is still in the nascent stage. However, we would consider it for upcoming bus rapid
transit projects.”