Effective Carbon Management for Carbon Market Compliance by the Rural Sector in India

The increasing concentration of green house gases (GHG) in atmosphere and its dramatic impact on global environment drive countries around the globe to reduce their share of global GHG emission into the atmosphere. The GHG reducing mechanisms are traded under three Kyoto mechanisms namely; joint implementation (JI), clean development mechanism (CDM) and emissions trading (ET). Under CDM, developing countries can invest in carbon emissionreduction technologies and earn certified emission reduction credits which can be then traded in the carbon market. In India, most of the carbon projects are implemented in the energy sector. Very few projects are concerned with rural development. Also, carbon projects in India are not compliant with the policy of IPCC 2007 which says that sustainable development must have environmental, economic and social dimensions. Most of the projects are implemented by the private sector or companies and rarely rural livelihood aspect is considered. The study explores opportunities and intervention in the rural sector to harness the benefits of carbon projects in India. Three important areas of rural economy, viz. agriculture, forestry and energy management were discussed in detail where carbon emission can be managed to earn carbon credits. The article discusses the limitations of carbon trading and concludes by suggesting a road map for strengthening and making the rural sector compliant with carbon market for carbon trading.