Why Carbon Minus, not neutral ?
Neutral is just OK, but not enough – Says the Indian school of thoughts. Eastern faith and believe differs here with west. We are responsible for our overall Consumption pattern over years, in fact, has cleared the way for Climate Change or Global Warming today. Our excessive wasteful energy use and over consumption had brought rise to an alarming situation now. Hence the Survival Strategy is Clear – We need to adapt not only aggressive Policies, but also actions to clear our own house i.e Only earth We have with us from our forefathers and have the moral responsibility of transferring safe to our Children.
Climate Change is occurring faster to fastest; being detrimental to global development efforts, in all possible directions, ultimately possessing a substantial threat to sustainability of mother earth. Climate Change today even risks, undermining the gains made in agriculture and food-security, health, water resources and infrastructure sectors; which again, could impede progress to a larger extend, hence resist towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. It is also affecting Countries like India and it’s dream of reaching double digit, inclusive all round growth, ensuring poverty reduction, is in such a crucial moment of history, when the nation is facing the peak of it’s development challenges. Temperatures in India are projected to increase up to 5oC by 2060, resulting in yield losses, including many prime crops. An increased occurrence of extreme events such as droughts, floods and cyclones has started affecting the poorest segment of the society most, causing a significant loss of properties and lives. In the longer-term, a one-meter sea level rise would displace millions people in India, and the costs to build walls along the zones, vulnerable to sea level rise are deemed to be prohibitive. Therefore, at this juncture of time, Carbon Minus India (CMI) strongly believes today that India must join in key global efforts to mitigate, adapt and moderate climate change, which in fact, one of the prime national challenge for India, along with rest of the world.
Figure 1 : CO2 Intensity: India and Comparators
Source: International Energy Agency (IEA). 2004. CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion (2004 edition), IEA, Paris.
At the macro scale, India is a low-intensity producer of CO2e emissions, in comparison with rest of the world. Its’ per capita CO2e emissions are among the lowest in the world with around 1 metric ton (MT) per person compared with 4 for the world average and 20 for the United States. India also performs very well, when compared to other economies on the basis of CO2 intensity on per capita GDP i.e. tons of CO2 emissions per unit of GDP. India’s CO2e intensity, particularly when measured using PPP, it’s GDP, is again among the lowest for “comparator” countries with significant aggregate CO2e emissions and shares of coal (most carbon-intensive fossil fuel) in the energy mix. That, it is much lower than the United States, Russia, China, South Africa, Australia, and close to that of Japan.
Carbon Minus India (CMI), is a not-for-profit, public Trust, registered under Indian Trust Act, 1882; as an Indian Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) initiative; established at the Capital City of India, New Delhi, to act with courage and confidence for drastic curtailment of Green House Gases (GHGs), in the larger interest of man-kind for the survival of the earth from Global Warming and other adverse impact of Climate Change.
Carbon Minus India (CMI) is a again Centre of Excellence, engaged to evolve a strategic framework for India in identifying low carbon growth opportunities, as well as guide and facilitate a planned and scaled-up program to Government as well as Private initiatives, which would support to the on-going dialogues for establishing such a climate friendly development path for the country.
CMI would adopt following means
for achieving it’s Objectives.
- Act as a Think Tank of Indian Intellects to help Government, Industry, Private Sector, Academia, to device right Policy Directive and necessary technological and strategic interventions to drive India in to a low carbon economy path.
- Provide Research and Consultancy for mitigating Climate Change i.e reduction in Carbon Foot-Print by promoting Carbon Trading for generation of Carbon Revenue, CDM Project Development Facility, Programmatic CDM ( i.e. Moving away from current project-by-project approach, and scaling up to a program of investments), Development of Renewable and Clean Energy Projects, Conducting Energy, Environment and Water Audits and Energy Efficiency Studies,
- Disseminate of large scale Carbon Investment Opportunity Information, Carbon Finance tools available in present day market, particularly for Small and Medium Industries, Public and Private Sector and all those, who are associated, there by increasing Confidence and Credibility in the Carbon Market.
- Promote Climate friendly Life-Styles, Life-style-product and process, through its Climate Friendly Product Certification System through a Life Cycle Audit by its own professional trained Engineers and qualified auditors.
- Execute Climate Friendly Life-Style Campaigns by Organizing Public Marathons, Walkathons, and Rallies and through Community Radio and Audio-visual Programmes, Films, Folk and Street Theaters, Music, Dance and Songs, Issuing Posters, Pamphlets, Booklets, Monographs and also News Letters in public interests.
- Publish a quarterly magazine Carbon Minus’ in regular basis (initially planned quarterly) – India’s first and Only Magazine on Climate Change and Carbon Finance.
- Address it’s Objectives through development of a vibrant and dynamic Web-site www.carbonminus.org
- Organize tailor-made specific GHGs Reduction Awareness Programmes, involving School, College Children and Common masses through various Community initiatives like Stake-holder’s Meet, State-holder’s Consultations involving Corporate Sector Interfaces, Special Lectures, Quiz, Essay, Debate, Elocution, Drawing Competitions etc.
- Opting Bio-fuel and Medicinal Plant and Massive Plantation Programmes and Carbon Storage and Carbon Sequestration Initiatives by Rural, Tribal and Women Communities, there by creating natural as well as artificial “ Sinks” linking to Bio and Community Carbon Funds.
- Organize regional, national, international Conferences, Seminars, Workshops, Symposiums, Exhibitions and Buyer-Sheller Meets on related themes of Climate Change and Carbon Trading.
- Certify Carbon Minus to Schools, Institutes, Corporate Houses, Eco-friendly Industries, Green Buildings, Banks, and hotels, Organizations of national and international repute.
- Develop of appropriate Data-bases and Information bases, through advanced tools like Geo-informatics etc for Inventerasing GHG Emissions, which would be useful in decision making processes.
- Develop adaptive capacities for the appropriate communities - say Farmers, Fishermen etc, to cope with new changes, due to climate change and make them adopt right strategies for continuing with same or similar livelihood options through information dissemination and training. (Adaptatation)
- Network with Organizations/Institutes of similar Objectives to increase its strength collectively to face the adverse impacts of climate change for the betterment of Society with new synergy.
- Articulate a cost-effective strategy for further lowering the carbon intensity of the national economy at the macro and sectoral levels by offering right incentives for Low Carbon Technologies; that is beneficial for growth objectives, by identifying synergies, barriers and potential trade-offs, and the financial needs.
- Identify opportunities and facilitate leveraging financial resources, including external finance, such as Carbon Finance (CF), to support of a low carbon growth strategy, as well as explore the possible need for new financing instruments, Systematically integrating Carbon Finance into Public and Private Investment Decisions and scaling up intermediation through the involvement of the financial sector across various other sectors of the economy.
Carbon Minus India (CMI), is therefore is an Indian School of thought, which strongly believes that this is high time, we need to cut our Carbon-Emissions drastically, even beyond what we generate or responsible for; so that We can retrieve our ever-green earth. Just neutralizing our portion of emission, in isolation, is hence not enough. So this could be called Carbon Minus, i.e. going aggressive for GHG-Reduction, instead of Carbon Plus or Carbon Neutral like they tell in west. Hence, CARBON MINUS’ is not Carbon Negative rather higher Carbon Positive – It is a movement or School of Thought itself, for aggressive GHG Emission Reduction. – hence Join us today.
Carbon Minus India (CMI), New Delhi
D-77, Vikas Lane, Vikas Marg, Shakarpur, New Delhi-110092. Tel: ++91-11-24512876,
Fax: ++91-11-22723376, Email: carbonminusindia@gmail.com, Website : www.carbonminus.org
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