Leading up to COP 28
An expert interaction was held under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change held by Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, (MoEFCC), Government of India , on November 22, 2023, just before COP 28.
Shubhashis Dey, Director, Climate Policy and Climate Finance, Shakti, participated in this interaction where he said, “COP is a democratic process which means that any consensus among members requires compromise and flexibility. Hence, the focus must be on bringing consensus on issues which contribute to global and national gain without heavily compromising on our national development needs. For example, even if the CBAM is found to violate one or more of General Agreement Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provisions, it can be justified under the exceptions clause set out in GATT Article XX. CBAM has been already rolled out by the European Union, the tax barrier will impact trade balance for hard-to-abate sectors like iron and steel, aluminium, fertiliser and cement. Our focus can be on leveraging CBAM as a negotiation tool for channelising additional private finance at scale and cost to enable energy transition in these hard-to-abate sectors.”
Significant Outcome
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unveiled the transformative Green Credit Programme (GCP) at COP28, marking a significant stride in the realisation of the ‘LiFE’ (Lifestyle for Environment) movement initiated in 2021. The GCP works towards developing a market-based mechanism and aims to provide Green Credits as incentives to a diverse array of entities, ranging from individuals and Farmer Producer Organisations to cooperatives, forestry enterprises, sustainable agriculture ventures, Urban and Rural Local Bodies, private sectors, industries, and organisations.
The initial set of activities eligible for Green Credits include Tree Plantation, Water conservation, harvesting and efficiency, Sustainable Agriculture, Waste management, Air Pollution Reduction, Mangrove Conservation, Ecomark Labelling, and Sustainable building and infrastructure. Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, along with its partners, contributed to this initiative by providing insights and inputs through ecosystem consultations, informing the programme’s conceptualisation and operationalisation. These consultations delved into the initial design, approach, guidelines, and methodologies for the Green Credit Programme. Dr Ashvini Kumar, Shubhashis Dey, and Kruthika Jerome from Shakti actively participated in meetings convened by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the Green Credit Programme and enhancement of climate finance flows. Shakti, along with its partners, continues to remain engaged with the implementation and expansion of the programme.
Watch PM Modi at COP 28: https://lnkd.in/dz_s2GVn