Go green, pay for carbon footprint during Games

NEW DELHI - Driving, flying or home energy use, many innocuous everyday activities contribute to global warming. But now you can pay for your carbon footprint and redeem yourself during the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

As part of the first ‘green’ Games, the organising committee has decided to set up carbon neutrality kiosks at the Games Village and six venues where people can buy carbon credits to neutralise the harmful environmental effect of their activities.

“The initiative will help neutralise carbon dioxide emissions during the Games,” CWG organising committee secretary general Lalit Bhanot told IANS, explaining the work undertaken by General Environment and Sustainability Division (GESD).

“A customised travel footprint calculator will be installed at these kiosks where people can come and calculate the carbon emission during their travel from their home to the Village or venues.”

An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases will be emitted during the Oct 3-14 Games. The organisers committee will motivate athletes, delegates, spectators and others to offset their carbon footprint by investing in clean energy projects.

Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon emitted by an activity.

“Those interested can offset an equivalent amount of emission by investing in clean development mechanism projects,” he said.

The basic idea of carbon offset is to figure out your personal contribution to the global warming from activities such as driving, flying or home energy use. Carbon offsets help you take personal responsibility for the environmental consequences of your activities.

The organising committee has written to a few carbon credit selling companies in the country to come and set up their kiosks.

“It will be a one-stop shop where people can offset their carbon footprints by investing in clean sources of energy like hydroelectric, nuclear or wind,” added Bhanot’s colleague in GESD.

According to the World Bank, India is the second largest seller of carbon credits, after China. The global carbon credit market is estimated to grow to a whopping $100 billion this year, in which India could emerge as one of the largest beneficiaries with as much as a 25-percent share.

A host of Indian companies, both state-run and private sector ones , deal in carbon credits. The Delhi Metro, for example, which will ferry athletes and visitors during the Games, is expected to earn 400,000 carbon credits over a 10-year period, beginning December 2007, for its clean mode of transport.

(Richa Sharma can be contacted at richa.s@ians.in)