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Clean Development Mechanism : opportunities in Rajasthan
Dr Anish chatterjee @ K Swarna
achatterjee@devalt.org
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December 1997, Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in Kyoto, Japan. And, with the
ratification by Russia, the Protocol came into force on February 16,
2005. Under Article Three of the Protocol, Annex One countries
(Developed Countries) agreed to Quantified Emission Limitations and
Reduction Commitments (QELRCs) of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by at least
5.2 per cent below their 1990 levels. Developing countries have no
commitment under the Protocol, but they are eligible to participate in
the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The CDM project cycle, however,
is quite complex and requires a considerable capacity to be developed on
part of the policy makers, consultants, business sector and financial
institutions. Some amount of capacity building of the stakeholders, in
terms of capitalising on the opportunities provided by flexibility
mechanism (CDM), could propel the country towards an environment-
friendly growth path. Currently, the awareness among the project
developers of the additional revenue stream is extremely low in terms of
carrying out the CDM projects and the processes involved therein. There
is an urgent need to build this capacity among the business sector,
especially the renewable energy sector, small and medium enterprises and
the financial institutions, to enable India to take advantage of the
opportunity provided by the CDM mechanism.
The first
step to achieve the long-term objective of maximizing benefits from the
Clean Development Mechanism would be to bring all the stakeholders on a
common platform. From Development Alternatives’ experience of working in
this field for several years, there is a clear evidence of the need to:
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Identify sectors with
potential for CDM project development at the state level |
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Make business sector and
financial institutions aware of opportunities to maximise returns
through CDM |
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Identify their concerns
regarding CDM project development |
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Build their capacity to
develop CDM projects |
The Workshop
Realising the
above needs, a two day workshop was organised in the proactive state of
Rajasthan, India, by Development Alternatives, with financial assistance
from the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan,
with the aim of addressing such issues.
The Climate
Change Centre at Development Alternatives concentrated on the following
sectors:
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Power generation (
especially - wind, solar and biomass) |
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Tourism ( especially -
large hotels) |
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Mineral based industries |
Within these
sectors, power generation has the maximum potential for CDM in the
state. With a technical potential of 845 MW of wind power, 300 MW of
solar power and 150 MW of biomass-based power assessed in the state,
accessing CDM funds can bring huge amounts of investments in this
sector. In addition, there are almost six thousand small, medium and
large mineral based enterprises in the state. With power being a key
input in mechanised mining, processing and mineral-based industries,
potential for CDM is quite large in the state.
The following
topics were discussed in the workshop:
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Introduction to CDM and
enabling environment |
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Issues in CDM project
development |
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Benefits of CDM and how
to take it forward in the state of Rajasthan |
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CDM Case Studies |
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Designing Project Idea
Notes |
Two groups
worked on the designing of Project Idea Notes. This gave the
participants a hands-on experience on the technicalities related to
designing a CDM project. The main tasks were - development of project
design document incorporating sustainable development, baseline
calculation and the additionality criteria.
Outcome of
the Workshop
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The workshop provided
a platform to all the stakeholders to voice their concerns.
Stakeholders - |
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Considered that the
workshop provided a forum for bringing out their hurdles as well
as offered solutions. |
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Felt the need for
continuity in CDM promotional activities even after the workshop. |
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Felt a strong need for
the outreach of CDM activities through newspapers, periodicals,
etc. |
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Felt the need of a
network to enable the task to be taken forward.
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The workshop
identified the major hurdles in the path of the CDM activities,
like the financial incapability to do innovative things, lack of
information, less access to CDM in the market and inefficient
energy practises. It emphasised upon overcoming these issues
through easy banking schemes and making the information freely
available in the market. Despite all the hurdles, participants
from the State Government departments showed a keen interest in
promoting CDM in the state.
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The workshop
influenced the State Government and the need was felt for a CDM
cell in the state and a State Nodal Agency for CDM related
activities. Accordingly, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RREC)
has agreed to be the State Nodal Agency. The state is soon to
establish the CDM cell, which will help in closer coordination of
the different CDM activities, leading to improvement in
energy-efficient activities and promotion of sustainable
development, with a clean environment.
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