Indore Municipal Corporation registers with VCS USA for Carbon Credits.
Indore Municipal Corporation registered its sustainable development programs like Bio- Methanation plant, composting and other smart city projects to get registered with the Verified Carbon Standard of the United States of America and receive Carbon Credits for its contribution to curbing carbon and similar gas emissions. The Bio- Methanation plant in Indore was successful in reducing up to 1.7 lakh tonnes of carbon emission, enabling the IMC to earn about 2.9 crore rupees. The IMC completed all the registration processes and got certified before the VCS Indian project deadline, which is 31st December 2019, making it the first municipal corporation in Asia to get registered for Carbon Credits.
What are Carbon Credits?
“A carbon credit is fundamentally a permit—issued by a government or other regulatory body—that allows its holder to burn a specified amount of hydrocarbon fuel over a specified period. Each carbon credit is valued against one ton of hydrocarbon fuel. Companies or nations are allotted a certain number of credits and may trade them to help balance total worldwide emissions”, says Investopedia.
In simpler terms each registered country, company or organization gets an allowance of a certain quantity, permitting it to emit carbon and similar gases within the limits, or else fines would be levied. If the registered company has a surplus of carbon credits, it can trade them with others who need more to meet their targets and avoid fines. The country or company with surplus then gets paid for this trade, making it beneficial for both sides.
How is Indore Benefitting?
With getting registered for the Carbon Credits, the IMC gets paid in return of surplus credits, hence helping it come up with funds from an international body to invest in the city’s development. This is an extremely progressive step, taking Indore further ahead in the road to development.
What our Authorities Say!
Prakash Kumar, Project Manager of EKI said on this matter, “Its first-of-its-kind of projects in India, in fact Asia, for any Municipal Organization to get registration for such scope of activities into VCS (Verified Carbon Standard, USA) program”.
Asheesh Singh, Commissioner – IMC added, “Climate Change Mitigation projects adaptation is the need of the hour. In Madrid, the UNFCCC COP25 meeting is happening in which all Parties (countries) are negotiating over Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and soon we may have guidelines for ITMO (International Traded Mitigation Outcomes) trading. EnKing International with the head office at Indore was appointed as Consulting Organization for this activity.”
The EKI Energy service limited is responsible for managing the entire tender for sustainable city projects in the Smart City Indore initiative. It is one of the leading firms in India, with more than 400 national and international clientele having 5 nationwide offices and is headquartered at Indore (MP – India).
Article By: Umme Salma Saifee
