India contemplates tapping carbon credit from agriculture

India is trying to build a case to include agriculture in an estimated global market of $200-billion for carbon credit from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

"We are pressing for carbon credit from agriculture. The Planning Commission on principal accepted the idea in September 2010," NCCSD executive chairman Kirit N Shelat said on the sidelines of a national conference on agriculture and climate change organised by South Asia Forum for Environment and EIILM.

"NCCSD is pressing for it. I was included in a committee on agriculture by the Planning Commission and I hope the 12th plan paper will include this aspect to put pressure on the global platform," senior official of the National Council for Climate Change Sustainable Development and Public Leadership said.

Currently, carbon credit is available only for manufacturing and industry.

Shelat said the CDM norms were designed by the developed countries keeping there interest in mind and where agriculture did not figure in their total share of economy. But, now India has to put pressure keeping its interest with farmers to benefit commercially from agriculture based CDM.

India's average annual greenhouse gas reduction is pegged at 33.21-million credits or nearly 13 per cent of global annual reduction average of 257.28-million, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change data.

If agriculture could be included then this percentage would jump significantly.

Meanwhile, professor Y S Rajan who co-authored the book India 2020 with former President APJ Abdul Kalam said there was need for lifestyle pattern of consumption that would by default help in reducing the carbon footprint.

As an example, he said if everybody began to drink packaged drinking water, the jump in demand for energy which would go into the system of production and distribution, could be imagined.