‘Net Sink Credit For Climate Equity’, an idea that aims to give carbon credit to farmers as well as individuals, households, institutions and communities, has been included in the items to be considered for discussion at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) which is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, the U.K., between October 31 and November 12.
“The COP26 presidency has recognised the suggestion” on making carbon credit accessible to entities that are now out of the carbon trading network, according to a spokesman for the Kerala-based start-up Equator Geo, which is registered with Kerala Startup Mission.
K.D. Prasenan, MLA, said on Tuesday that the idea that carbon credit could be accessible to farmers and smaller communities had been well-received by the State government and, as part of the government’s efforts to encourage start-ups, the idea would be presented before the Union government.
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The ‘Net Sink Credit’ idea was an ambitious one and could be spread across the country, said Vineeta Hariharan, a national-level policy expert in New Delhi. She said scaling up was needed to spread the idea across India. Trading in carbon credit and monetisation of carbon credit is still at a nascent stage in the country. While there has been significant advances in generation of energy using renewable sources, carbon trading has not picked up momentum. The Net Sink Credit was a good idea that could lead the way, she said.
The spokesman for Equator Geo said a pilot study on net carbon emission by a household at Attappady in Palakkad district revealed that the household carbon emission was about six tonnes a year while carbon sequestration was around 450 tonnes. The household, situated in about a hectare of land, and engaged in farming activities without using chemicals, stands to gain from an active carbon trading market because of its capacity to neutralise carbon emissions.
Carbon emission is calculated on the basis of the energy consumption by an entity. For instance, electricity and cooking gas consumption, use of vehicles or deployment of fertilizers in fields, etc., are considered. Carbon sequestration is calculated on the basis of the plants and trees in a field and the soil types and their capacity to absorb carbon.
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The COP26 is expected to finalise the rules for successful implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change called the ‘Paris Rulebook’. One of the major objectives of the Paris Rulebook was to create a robust system of carbon credits, the spokesman added.