In an effort perhaps first of its kind to include rural poor in the current clean development mechanism ratified under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the rural development ministry has requested the ministry of environment and forests for developing some ?pilots projects? to secure valuable carbon credits.
This means that a significant chunk of more than 21 lakh works, mostly related to water conservation and afforestation, taken up under the UPA government’s flag-ship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), would be eligible for carbon credits, which essentially at the current context allows developed nations to give financial incentives to companies in developing countries by buying carbon credit so that over all global greenhouse gas emissions could be curtailed.
?At present all the works under NREGA are scattered all over the country and we have requested the environment ministry to develop few pilot projects so that it could be presented to CDM authorities,? Rita Sharma, secretary, ministry of rural development told FE. However, she said under the current CDM norm, such projects are yet to be considered.
If such pilot projects conceived by the rural development ministry materialise, it would certainly give encouragement to other countries to emulate. ?There is a need to consolidate and document massive afforestation or other related works taken up under the NREGA which results in substantial reduction in carbon emission,? Sharma said.
She added if such works under the NREGA essentially gets into CDM framework, it would for the first time ensure that poor people who have mostly been ?defending the environmental sustainability? get their due share in the carbon credit trading market and financial resources would eventually flow from polluters to protectors of environment.
The rural development ministry is expecting that at least some pilot projects are developed and presented in the next mega global meet on climate change scheduled for December this year in Copenhagen.
Since its launch in February 2006, the government has spend more than Rs 40,000 crore under the NREGA, out of more than Rs 26,000 crore is towards payment of wages. As many as 21 lakh jobs, mostly relating to water conservation & tree plantation, have been taken up under the scheme.
India and China lead the global carbon trading business. According to government data, India holds more than 25% of $64-billion of global carbon trade, mostly cornered by the industrial houses, and holds more than 35% of 820 projects registered with CDM executive board.
According to a Ficci study, the estimated value of global carbon markets more than doubled to $ 64 billion in 2007 from $ 34 billion in 2006. Around 3 billion tonne CO2 were transacted in 2007, a growth of 70% from the previous year.
India has been vigorously pushing for larger allocation toward green technology transfers from developed to developing countries, which have been opposed by developed countries. Although under Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012) ratified by the UNFCCC, India does not have a legal or binding obligation to reduce carbon emission, the United States, the biggest polluters or carbon emitter, continue to state that emerging economies like China, India, Brazil and South African must also take action on reducing carbon emission.