Energetica India Magazine March 2022

Q What are carbon credits and how these can be generated? Manish Dabkara: Carbon credit is an off - set mechanism that enables reduction in carbon emissions. One carbon credit is one metric tonne equivalent of carbon dioxide absorption. In other words, it is the compensation of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by pre- venting the same amount of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere elsewhere on earth. Carbon credit can be generated through any green proj- ect or initiative project that reduces, avoids, destroys or captures emissions. These credits are then supplied to any- one and everyone aiming to reduce their carbon footprint. There are different standards of carbon offsets like Verified Carbon Standards, Clean Development Mechanism, Gold Standard, and Global Carbon Council, amongst other interna - tional standards. As global leaders in the carbon markets, we provide end-to-end advisory services starting from listing of projects for carbon credit generation. Q Recently EKI Energy won Indore Municipal Corporation’s tender for the second time. Shed some light on it. Manish Dabkara : As part of the new contract from Indore Smart City Devel - opment Limited (ISCDL), EKIESL will offer a comprehensive bouquet of end- to-end consulting services for carbon credit solutions to ISCDL. With this, EKIESL will enable ISCDL to elevate its aggregator business model through which it offers sustainable solutions to urban and rural governance bodies en- abling other smart cities to become cli- mate sensitive. With this,ISCDL will be able to monetize emission reductions and realize additional revenue which it can use to support and fund its multiple welfare and developmental initiatives. Consequently, local bodies of other cit - ies who join hands with ISCDL will also be able to monetize their climate initia- tives. Q Kindly explain the significance of such tenders/projects in light of the Government’s Smart Cities Mission. Manish Dabkara: We can easily rep- licate our strategic solutions in other municipal corporations and smart city missions enabling them to reduce their carbon footprint and also generate an additional revenue source. With our ex- pertise, we can enable smart city mis- sionsto monetize their green initiatives- for additional funds to support other projects.We enable better ratings for smart cities in their ranking for sustain- able innovations. With the help of EKIESL, ISDCL was able to catalyze environmentally sus- tainable and financially viable waste management practices. EKIESL en- abled the ULBto earn carbon credit from effective waste management and with this additional revenue, the munic- ipal body was able to effectively fund its other welfare projects. The carbon cred- it earned acts as a means of subsidizing the establishment and operating cost and thus make the plant sustainable. Q What kind of challenges do you face, generally, while implementing such projects? And how do you deal with them? Manish Dabkara: Challenges include lower awareness levels and poor data collection mechanism currently. We solve it by working together with ULBs to identify and implement proper data collection mechanism appropriate for the respective projects Q What will be your key suggestions to the policymakers to provide a further boost for the development of Smart Cities in India? Manish Dabkara: Commissioning of smart city projects is still at an elemen- tary stage in the country even though India has very clear climate commit- ments. There is a need for regulatory frameworks and policy guidelines that provide clear mandates on emission re- ductions for smart city projects. Policy frameworks will enable smooth- er commissioning of smart for energy and cost saving utilities that can help conserve natural resources and bring to- gether environment and society for sus- tainable living on the planet. Carbon footprint at a city level using Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC) from GHG Protocol should also be made mandatory. Q Besides reducing carbon footprints, how do carbon credits help organ- isations in generating revenues as well? Manish Dabkara: Carbon credits make their way into the market by way of is- suance by a standard setting body that certify the credits issued by a project. The issuance is against every ton of GHG that is reduced, stored, or avoid - ed. As businesses invest in these credits, they reduce their carbon footprint that consequently helps them to increase their brand value as well business pro- ductivity. Investments in technological advancements that are energy efficient also help lower business costs. Carbon credits enable companies to make high- er profit margins as they champion cli - mate action. As companies increasingly use offset mechanisms to drastically reduce their energetica INDIA- Mar_2022 15 INTERVIEW