'India should encash on huge Carbon Trading market'

Bangalore, June 15 : India holds a major share of 31 per cent in the world Carbon Trading market, estimated to be 10 billion Dollars, and this should be used to contribute towards fighting climate change and regenerate environment, World Environment Foundation (WEF) President M R Madhav Mehra said.

In an informal interaction with reporters here yesterday, he said carbon trading was becoming increasingly popular world over with more and more companies opting to invest in it. In India about 100 companies had got itself enlisted in this regard. The United Nations Organisation had established two exchanges, one each in the US and Europe, for the purpose of carbon trading.

The floor price of carbon trading was now at 17 Dollars for each tonne of carbon monoxide produced. It was expected to go up to 40 Dollars in two years and to 100 Dollars by 2012.

He called for a pro-active plan to combat climate change and regenerate environment by bringing in stringent steps. Dissenters of climate change were losing credibility in the face of overwhelming evidence that man-made effects on climate were real. Even a detractor like US President George Bush had admitted the hazards of being 'addicted to oil,' Dr Mehra said.

''In the United States, the per capita use of natural material is the highest with 80 tonnes. Thanks to India being a poor country, it remained at six tonnes per person. This should be brought down. A new economics for minimising pollution should be brought about by using market mechanism like rewards for those who contribute for minimising pollution and penalty for those who cause increase of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere,'' he said.

Dr Mehra said large scale industries should adopt zero waste and closed loop systems by maximising the recycling of waste, capturing carbon dioxide from the air by developing forests and turning to renewables and decarbonisation.

The use of fossil fuels, which contributed for 75 per cent of the world's energy, should be minimised and instead investments should be made in green technologies and green stock.

UNI