Skip to main content

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

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.