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ShareAhmedabad, Ahmedabad: Gearing up for the climate change conference in Copenhagen next month, the Greens in Gujarat, as well as the government, are preparing to mark their presence at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) in the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Despite the Gujarat government's initial impetus on climate change, led by the establishment of a climate cell department, no official representative from the state is likely to attend the conference. However, the state government is planning to arrange a two-day conference on the issues of Gujarat and initiatives undertaken by the government to combat global warming. A state action plan will be prepared, to be presented at the conference.
Principal secretary SK Nanda told DNA that papers on what Gujarat should do deal with the effects of climate change will be invited from industry experts to present at the conference. "All the proceedings of the seminar will be recorded and a formal state action plan will be worked out on the lines of prime minister's national action plan for climate change. This state action plan will be presented at COP15," he said.
On another note, activists in Gujarat have come together with their counterparts from all across India and neighbouring countries for COP15. A few NGOs and concerned citizens met in New Delhi last week for a workshop on clean development mechanism (CDM). A statement was released at the end of the workshop on lessons learnt and reforms needed in CDM implementation. This statement will also be presented at COP15.
Mahesh Pandya from Ahmedabad's Paryavaran Mitra, who attended the conference, highlighted that corporate bodies were quick to claim carbon credits, but the implementation of the said "clean" efforts for which they are claiming the international recognition is under doubt, and needs to be regulated better.
"The in-transparency of the carbon market makes it impossible to track projects to buyers. In order to monitor if project proponents actually invest in sustainable development, we need clear information about the buyers, the quantity, and the price of certified emission reductions (CERs) purchased. Moreover, the implementation of sustainable development principles can only be strengthened if state and national governments along with local people are involved in monitoring registered projects," he said.
Participants at the workshop came down heavily on the fact that cheap emission reductions were preferred over projects with high sustainable development benefits, and strongly agreed on the need to improve this imbalance.
