By Commodity Online
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences would submit detailed and exhaustive norms for reducing carbon emissions to National Council for Climate Change, headed by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh in the month of November 2008, according to Kapil Sibal,Union Minister for Science and Technology.
Declaring this at ASSOCHAM organized Summit on Clean Development Mechanism and Carbon Trading in India, Mr. Sibal also disclosed that the norms would involve tax concessions, incentive schemes including legislative framework to motivate Indian Inc. to effectively undertake carbon emissions reduction programme.
The Minister said that the government was more than willing to encourage Indian Inc. to install such devices in its manufacturing units as can capture carbons from atmosphere and thereafter store them in a manner so that these can be injected into oil fields for higher crude production. This initiative, however, would need huge investments but the government will be able to generate them, indicated Mr. Sibal.
Explaining details of proposed norms, the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences would submit to Dr. Singh, Mr. Sibal said that these would be as per guidelines of National Action Plan on Climate Change which was recently released by the Prime Minister.
“My Ministry is currently engaged into evolving the new norms so that Indian industry has a road map as per which it can bring down the carbon content from atmosphere as India is one of the developing countries which is committed to honor all its obligations as per Kyoto Protocol”, said Mr. Sibal.
Dwelling at length on current pace of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) being effected by developed world, Mr. Sibal was extremely critical of it as he felt that technological transfer is hardly taking place towards developing countries including India and described, the process of CDM as totally farce.
Mr. Sibal lambasted 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.
The Minister, therefore, advocated the need for evolution of technologies and their transfer so that local problems relating to environment degradation are handled as per their geographical locations.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of Japan to India, Mr. Hideaiki Domichi said that his country would collaborate with India for emission control as per guidelines and dictates of Kyoto Protocol and committed that by 2020, the Japan would be able to reduce nearly 14% of its carbon emissions.
The country would further reduce its carbon emissions by about 50% towards the end of 2050 and thereby put in efforts to take this percentage to over 80%. The Ambassador emphasized that even at recent G 8 Nations summit, the issue of emission control was taken serious note off and their was a unanimity during the summit for reduction of carbon emissions. This is good initiative which would be followed by developed world first and thereafter the adopted and accepted by developing nations.
In his welcome address, the ASSOCHAM President, Mr. Sajjan Jindal said that the issue of global warming and carbon emission reduction should be taken a top priority and industry worldover must make it a part of its corporate social responsibility. With this, we would be able to give a clear atmosphere to our future generations, emphasized Mr. Jindal,
Among others who strongly advocated for a collaborative and unified approach for sustained economic development without hurting nature’s ecological balances include the ASSOCHAM Cool the earth Initiative Committee Chairman, Mr. Rahul Sharma, Mission Director, US AID, Mr. George Deikun and ASSOCHAM Secretary General, Mr. D S Rawat.
