Energetica India Magazine March 2022

emissions and improve their energy effi - ciency, they will significantly contribute to lowering and reversing the adverse effects of climate change. If more companies adopt climate action, this essentially translates into strong efforts towards lowering the country’s emission levels and consequently contributing to the climate goals of planet. Q Shed some light on EKI’s na- ture-based and community-based projects? Manish Dabkara: We have a deep focus on community development projects that empower the society as well as the environment. Nature based solutions harness the power of nature to solve climate crisis issues. It is the sustainable manage- ment, conservation and restoration of ecosystems to build resilience to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. We have joined hands with Shell Over- seas Investments B.V. (a unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc) to work on reducing carbon emissions in India through Na- ture based solutions. The joint venture will work on the conservation, enhance- ment and restoration of natural eco- systems – such as forests, agriculture, grasslands, wetlands and blue carbon –to prevent emissions or lower concen- trations of greenhouse gases in the at- mosphere while creating lasting benefits for people. Green cooking initiative is our yet an - other community-based project. As part of this, we replace traditional in- efficient mud stoves with improved cook stoves absolutely free of cost across rural households globally. We recently established a new associate – GHG Re - duction Technologies Pvt. Limited to oversee the end-to-end management of carbon offset supply chain with back- ward integration through cook stoves. Q What are EKI Energy’s targets in the next 2-3 years? Manish Dabkara: As we continue to take brand EKIESL to newer heights, we want to build a safer planet. In line with this, our top priorities are the commu- nity, our employees and our customers. We will continue our efforts to encour- age more and more companies to start their climate action journey. We are also working with our existing customers, to widen the scope of their climate action goals for increased efforts. We foresee that our efforts will enable us to take the planet closer to a thriving future. As we move forward, we aim to increase our focus on community-based projects for an inclusive growth for all in line with the SDG goals established by the UN. Q What is your industry outlook for the carbon markets amid current global scenarios? Manish Dabkara: India’s carbon market is still at a growing stage 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. While the country has been developing a voluntary mechanism, there is very little concrete action on it. A recent report by the Deloitte Eco - nomics Institute titled “India’s turning point: How climate action can drive our economic future”, quotes that India must act now to prevent the country losing US$35 trillion in economic po- tential over the next 50 years due to un- mitigated climate change. It shows that the country could gain US$11 trillion in economic value instead over the same period, by limiting rising global tem- peratures and realizing its potential to ‘export decarbonization’ to the world. India’s net-zero commitment at the COP26 has stabilized the climate mar - ket in the country. This together with the pledges of other countries has accel- erated the global fight against climate change. With this, carbon credit will increasingly become an important solu- tion for climate action. Consequently carbon credit pricing will also increase as the demand for it soars in times to come. As more and more businesses and organizations become active in cutting emissions using offsets, carbon markets are becoming increasingly robust and attractive. India is expected to witness a drastic change in its carbon markets in the next one to three years as increasing number of businesses join the climate action bandwagon. 16 energetica INDIA- Mar_2022 INTERVIEW