Gujarat chemical plant makes 1.2 mln CO2 credits

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Indian chemical plant Gujarat Fluorochemicals has produced 1.2 million tonnes of carbon credits, nearly 10 percent of the total issued so far under the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol, a U.N. website shows.

Rich countries and companies can buy such credits and use them to offset against their greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Kyoto Protocol and the European Union's carbon trading scheme.

The U.N. panel administering carbon trading under Kyoto -- termed the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) -- approved the Gujarat credits on Monday.

Some 14 million tonnes credits have been issued so far, a little over the 2004 greenhouse gas emissions of Luxembourg.

A pipeline of similar projects, most of which have not yet cleared a series of U.N. approval hurdles, could deliver over 1.2 billion credits, according to the U.N.

Once credits are issued they can be physically delivered. Before that they are traded on a forward basis, under the assumption that projects will successfully cut their emissions.

One credit is equivalent to one tonne of cuts in emissions of carbon dioxide -- the commonest greenhouse gas -- and credits for guaranteed delivery have traded recently at 15 euros per tonne.

REUTERS SRS BD1714