Govt Should Establish a Strategic and Definitive Roadmap to Execute Climate Action, says Manish Dabkara 

Climate change is an impetus that can transform India into a sustainable, low-carbon country with a high-growth economy.

It is therefore vital that the Government of India should establish a strategic and definitive roadmap to execute climate action, said Manish Dabkara, Chairman and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of EKI Energy Services Ltd - a leading company in the carbon credit industry in India.

Dabkara also recommended to Government that the Budget this year should empower low-carbon and climate-resilient sectors for increased climate action.

This will not only enable the country to drive targeted efforts to achieve its net-zero commitment of 2070 but will also help us to conserve our environment through sustainable climate actions, he suggested.

By providing his recommendations for the Union Budget 2022-23, Manish Dabkara proposed a National database for carbon credit i.e. a one-stop destination with all inventory details of carbon offsets will enable seamless monitoring and regulation of all available data.

This will phenomenally enhance the global marketability of the carbon credits available in India resulting in increased funds that can be channeled for more climate action as we stride ahead to a net-zero future, he added.

In another recommendation he proposed, Incentivizing mitigation and climate action(s) means this is one of the most instrumental propositions to encourage more organizations across sectors to adapt increased climate actions. Government should provide incentives/subsidies through various Government schemes to businesses engaging in carbon credits. This will lead to an increased generation of this environmental commodity that can be exported to global markets resulting in increased forex earning for the country.

He also emphasized that companies engaging in carbon credit exports should also be given export incentives in the form of duty scripts.

Dabkara also proposed that climate compliance should be mandated for PSUs, especially where their complaint project registrations are too low. PSUs are also not availing benefits related to carbon markets so it must be mandatory for them to gain this benefit which is currently sought by and made rightful use of, by the private sector, he added.

Nextly, he also recommended for Formulation of a clear policy on NDC he explained that if the Government establishes a clear policy on NDC for the usage of credits and other aspects of the Glasgow pact, the industry can gain clarity on the possible transactions it can drive and channelize its consolidated efforts to ramp up the pace towards achieving the country’s net-zero commitment of 2070. Migration of projects from Kyoto Protocol to Paris Agreement and new project registrations under Article 6.4 must be made very clear, he said.

In another proposal, Dabkara suggested that CSR funds for climate action should be encouraged and it should be allowed to buy carbon credit under CSR. The use of revenue generated from these activities needs to be clarified under law. This will encourage more projects and requisite funding to drive focus efforts. Initiatives like green cooking or forestry, for example, enable communities to become empowered while also driving biodiversity conservation, he further added.

Besides, in his next recommendation i.e. Carbon credits for old car scrap he explained that the Government’s old car scrap policy is a significant regulation on carbon emissions. Adding a credit generation mechanism to this policy can phenomenally increase the steady supply of the country’s carbon offsets. When car owners get incentivized with credits for their scrapped car, the country can increase its export revenue, he said.

On the education front, he proposed the creation of an education policy on climate change and its mitigation will create a talent pool for India. An education policy and accreditation will impart requisite climate skills and build skilled manpower for climate action, he also added.

Lastly, Manish Dabara also suggested that Startups should be encouraged in the climate industry sector. This will drive more focused efforts for climate action in the country.