No mandatory provisions exist for companies to reveal carbon footprint: Ministry

Date: December 06, 2007 Source: Mumbai (PIB)

A report ranking the National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC) as the third most polluting power has not been validated or authenticated by the power companies, according to the Indian government. This report had been compiled by Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA), a US based database and financed by Confronting Climate Change Initiatives at the Center for Global Development, a think tank located in Washington DC.

Further, the Indian government has added that in terms of the carbon intensity as such, i.e. the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of electricity produced, NTPC ranks 2480 in the CARMA database. Realizing the rapid growth in the power sector, the Government is undertaking the following activities through NTPC for reduction of carbon dioxide emissions:

Massive afforestation for carbon sink, Participating in the Clean Development Mechanism of Kyoto Protocol, Adopting super critical technology in its upcoming power projects, Diversifying into hydro sector power projects and renewable energy sources and Undertaking Renovation and Modernization (R&M) of old power plants for improving efficiency.

Several projects on multidisciplinary aspects of Climate Change have been completed and funded by the Government of India's Global Environment Facility (GEF) and also under its bilateral cooperation. India has received an indicative allocation of $ 74.9 millions to fund climate change projects (2006-2010) in the country through the GEF, which is the multilateral financial mechanism. India has already set up an Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India on impacts of Climate Change to identify the impacts of anthropogenic Climate Change on India and to identify the measures to tackle the vulnerability to anthropogenic Climate Change impacts. The composition of the Expert Committee includes eminent scientists and representatives of various Ministries and Departments concerned.

The pollution margins (limits) for various categories of industries are notified under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The limits have also been prescribed by the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) / Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 while granting consent to industrial units to establish / operate. The pollution margins (limits) are applicable to all the specified categories of industries based on types of industries and its location.

According to the Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Namo Narain Meena, there is no mandatory provision under the environmental legislations, such as, Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, for an industry to reveal its carbon foot print (carbon emission) details.