International advocacy group asks GoI to withdraw eco-certificate to the Adanis' Mundra power plant

By Our Representative

In an important development, a top international advocacy group, Carbon Market Watch (CMW), has welcomed the decision of EDF Trading, a major buyer of carbon credits from carbon offsetting projects around the world, to distance itself from the “controversial” Adani Mundra coal power project. The EDF Trading is a leading player in international energy markets and operates across all commodity lines, especially coal, which is the main requirement for the Adanis’ Mundra power project.
CMW, which is an extension of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Watch, an initiative of several international NGOs to provide an independent perspective on individual CDM projects and to critically assess the political decision-making process affecting wider carbon market developments, referring to the Sunita Narain committee report on environmental violations by Adanis in Mundra, said, the report, commissioned by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, had “found violations and non-compliance with environmental conditions by Adani Group's Mundra Port.”
The CMW has said, now, the Government of India should “withdraw the CDM approval for the project”, adding, already, EDF Trading has in a statement published French energy daily “Enerpresse” stated that it “is no longer associated contractually under the CDM, with this [Adani Mundra] supercritical coal power project in India.” At the same time, the EDF Trading has sought to clarify that so far it has so far not done any carbon trading for the Adanis’ Mundra project.
The CMW underlines, “With coal-fired power is continuing to lose broad support even within the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism.” It adds, “The Adanis’ project is a new super-critical coal fired power plant at Mundra, Gujarat, India with an installed capacity of 1320 MW. It claims that it was built more efficiently because of the CDM offset revenue. Despite heavy criticism, the project was registered in 2009 under the UN’s offsetting mechanism. Because coal is inherently climate damaging and also causes numerous other environmental and human health impacts, NGOs have long been calling for the exclusion of coal power projects from the CDM.”
The CMW quotes its spokesperson Eva Filzmoser as saying,“Following the announcement from the British government to stop endorsing investments in coal power, this decision clearly underscores the controversial nature of awarding carbon credits to coal power plants. We welcome this move and call on parties to set a definite end for climate finance for coal power at the upcoming climate change conference in Warsaw”.
Filzmoser adds, “The statement by EDF Trading comes as a surprise because the company is listed as the beneficiary of the carbon credits from Adani’s Mundra project in an authorization letter issued by the French environment ministry. The Mundra project is also the first out of six registered projects that has already received carbon credits. Given EDF Trading’s statement that it has not purchased any of the credits it is unclear which entity has purchased the 600.000 carbon credits issued for the period February 2011 to March 2012.”
The CMW especially notes that the development has come close on the heels of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, “fining the Adani Group's Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone (components of the project area of which also the thermal power plant is part of) for damaging mangroves, creeks and the local environment at the project site. The fine was issued as a consequence of a report by an inspection committee set up by the MoEF that found that the Adani Group is in violation with various national regulations.”
Even then, CMW regrets, “The project remains registered as a CDM project until the Indian national authority withdraws their approval letter. This letter, that must approve that the CDM project contributes to sustainable development, is a fundamental requirement of the CDM.” Voicing a similar view, Falguni Joshi of the Gujarat Forum of the CDM has said, “Adani’s Mundra project not only harms the climate, it also threatens the health of local communities and fails to deliver sustainable development, as mandated by the CDM. We call on our government to take the findings of their report seriously and withdraw the letter of approval.”
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) a market-based mechanism established under the Kyoto Protocol as a means of allowing the industrialized countries to meet their national targets by investing in lower cost carbon emission reduction projects in developing countries. While the CDM operates under the oversight of the Conference of the Parties (COP/MOP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and proclaimed as a "trailblazer", it has been criticized by some environmental and other non-governmental organizations as ineffective and counter-productive.

Comments

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Whither Jeffrey Sachs-supported research project which 'created' Gujarat model of development for Modi?

Even as Donald Trump was swearing-in as US President, a friend forwarded to me a YouTube video in which veteran world renowned economist Prof Jeffrey Sachs participated and sought an answer as to why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "afraid to fly" despite being invited to Donald Trump's swearing in ceremony. This took my memory to 2003, when I -- as representative of the Times of India -- had a short tet-a-tat along with a couple of other reporters with Sachs in the chief minister's office in Gandhinagar.

Busy taking books to the needy, this rationalist exposes miracles in a superstition-infested Gujarat society

I knew his name as a campaigner against the sheer wastage of the large amounts of ghee brought by devotees from across India for a major religious ceremony conducted every year in Rupal village, near Gandhinagar, the Gujarat capital, on the ninth day of Navratri. I had seen him at several places during my visits to different NGO meetings as well as some media conferences.

No to free thought? How Gujarat's private universities are cowing down their students

"Don't protest"—that's the message private universities across Gujarat seem to be conveying to their students. A senior professor told me that students at the university where he teaches are required to sign an undertaking promising not to engage in protests. "They simply sign the undertaking and hand it over to the university authorities," he said.

'Potentially lethal, carcinogenic': Global NGO questions India refusing to ban white asbestos

Associated with the Fight Inequality Alliance, a global movement that began in 2016 to "counter the concentration of power and wealth among a small elite", claiming to have members in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, the Philippines, and Denmark, the advocacy group Confront Power appears all set to intensify its campaign against India as "the world’s largest asbestos importer".

To be or not to be Sattvik: Different communities' differing notions of purity and fasting

This is a continuation of my last blog on Sattvik food. When talking about Sattvik, there is a tendency to overlook what it may mean to different sections of people around the world. First, let me redefine Sattvik: it means having a "serene, balanced, and harmonious mind or attitude." Derived from the Sanskrit word sattva, it variously means "pure, essence, nature, vital, energy, clean, conscious, strong, courage, true, honest, and wise." How do people achieve this so-called purity? Among Gujarati Hindus, especially those from the so-called upper castes who are vegetarians, one common way is fasting. On fasting days, such as agiyarash —the 11th day of the lunar cycle in the Vedic calendar—my close relatives fast but consume milk, fruit juices, mangoes, grapes, bananas, almonds, pistachios, and potato-based foods, including fried items. Another significant fasting period is adhik maas. During this time, many of my relatives "fast" by eating only a single me...

World Bank approved $800 for Amravati despite negative internal view, court, NGO objections: CFA

Despite over 170 representatives by civil society organisations, hailing from 17 countries, all of them written to the World Bank’s executive directors calling upon the top banker to defer its approval, even as seeking further detailed studies, the Bank’s board of directors has approved $800 million for the Amaravati Capital City project.

Shyam Benegal's Mathan a propaganda film that supported 'system'? No way

A few days ago, I watched Manthan, a Shyam Benegal movie released in 1976. If I remember correctly, the first time I saw this movie was with Safdar Hashmi, one of the rare young theater icons who was brutally murdered in January 1989. Back then, having completed an M.A. in English Literature from Delhi University in 1975, we would often move around together.

Sattvik Food Festival: Shouldn't one question notion of purity, cultural exclusion in food choices?

Recently, I visited the Sattvik Food Festival, an annual event in Ahmedabad organized by Anil Gupta, professor emeritus at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A). I have known Prof. Gupta since 1993, when I sought an appointment to meet him a few months after joining The Times of India in Ahmedabad—one reason why I have always been interested in the activities he is involved in.

Search This Blog