The government on Friday severely criticised the implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of United Nations, which aims at reducing the carbon emission and called for a new approach for ensuring green technology transfer from developed to developing countries.
?Whatever the world talk about CDM market, the truth is that despite of huge investment in India, no real transfer of technology has taken place,? Kapil Sibal, minister of science and technology said.
He even described the process of CDM ?totally farce?. H e was speaking at a summit titled ?Clean Development Mechanism and Carbon Trading in India? organised by Assocham.
India at present accounts for nearly 14% of the world?s total multi-billion dollar CDM market which allows developed nations to give financial incentives to companies in developing countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Sibal said that mostly people taking advantage of the CDM are settled abroad and use local technology to earn carbon credit. ?As a result, the CDM which aims to curb carbon emissions is not happening. Therefore, we need to think afresh on how to make the CDM mechanism more effective,? he said
While criticising the developed world and leading multinationals for claiming ?to think globally and act locally? as this claim of theirs is far off ground realities since local problems can be solved only with local technologies, he said.
Sibal said the issue needs to be looked at in the context of financial limitations and human resource capabilities of populated countries like India and China, which are trying to eliminate poverty. ?We are looking at sustainable development for reducing the carbon emissions. Unless solutions are affordable and accessible, it cannot be achieved,? he said.
According to Sibal, as a part of national action plan for dealing with the climate change issues, the ministry of science and technology and earth sciences would submit a detailed and exhaustive norms for reducing carbon emissions to national council for climate change, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by November 2008.
?The norms would involve tax concessions, incentive schemes including legislative framework to motivate industry undertake carbon emissions reduction programme. These norms would be as per guidelines of National Action Plan on Climate Change,? he said.
While the actual data on the present India?s greenhouse emissions is yet to be compiled, the data goes back to 1994. In 1994, per capita emission were just 0.87 tonnes per person per year which according to an estimate has increased to 1.1 tonnes per person till now which still very ?low? compared to developed countries. The US emits roughly 20 tonne green house gas compared to 4 tonne by China.