Why not buy some carbon dioxide?

Organised by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, The Energy and Research Institute (TERI) and CII, the Technology Bazaar is an effort to bring these buyers and sellers of carbon dioxide under one roof.

Tata Steel is one of the early birds of this brave new world. While a deal would help it switch to cleaner fuel or energy efficiency, the investing country will get ‘credits’ for the carbon dioxide saved and thus move faster towards its commitment to meet their targets under the Kyoto Protocol.

The eagerness to get into the act, despite the fact that the Protocol is yet to come into force and that the US has refused to ratify it, is understandable. Several hundred dollars are at stake even if India aims for 10 per cent of the CDM market.

As the 2012 deadline for meeting the Kyoto Protocol targets draws nearer, demand for and prices of carbon credits are expected to rise (Presently, the cost in the international market is $3 to $10 per tonne of carbon dioxide reduced).

‘‘I only stand to lose if I don’t trade this carbon dioxide. With one giga calorie of energy saved, I can save Rs 100 crore per year,’’ points out Sharma of Tata Steel. The Orchid Hotels of Kamat group in Mumbai has also prepared a CDM project for submission to the Government. It is a package of measures—ozone aritors to reduce ozone from the air-conditioning system, CFL lamps, energy-efficient de-super heaters and CNG instead of coal. In the process, it will be saving 40 lakhs unit of energy per year.

Gubbi Energy Efficiency Project has developed a technology that will cut down transmission and distribution losses. The saved electricity can light up a village in a remote area.

The companies have to go through a detailed process to get their ideas cleared as a CDM project. These have to be approved by the Government, validated by an independent certifier, registered by the CDM Executive Board and then implemented. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is setting up a body that will clear these projects. Called the National CDM Authority, it will be headed by the Secretary of MoEF.

‘‘These are all test cases for us—from hotels and steel plants to electricity distribution. If they get cleared, they can become models for the country,’’ says Pamposh Bhat, head of CDM-India set up by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in India. Germany and India had earlier signed an MoU under the Indo-German Energy Programme to set up a single-window clearing house for CDM-related activities in the country. They advertised for expression of interest and got huge response, from which they selected seven projects as test cases.

Indal of Aditya Birla Group has discovered that one tonne of polluting Per Floro Carbon that they reduce saves them 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. They have hired consultants to find them interested buyers. A new plant, Jindal Vijaynagar Steels in Bailadalia, will be set up with 25 per cent less carbon dioxide emissions.

One of the biggest initiatives in this field by the government sector is by the Ministry of Steel. Under a UNDP programme, they are working with 1,200 re-rolling mills in 13 states to save up to 31 per cent in energy.

But the best part of this wind of change is that it isn’t confined to the corridors of power. Among those floating on carbon dioxide at the Bazaar are a small wind farm in Tamil Nadu, a mini hydro power plant in Kullu, a medium-size steel plant in Mandi Gobingarh in Punjab and a blast furnace at Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh.