When you travel in the Metro in 2011, you will be silently contributing to the reduction of global warming. You will also be helping the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) earn a fortune by trading carbon bonds.

The BMRCL hopes to acquire “lakhs” of carbon bonds from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which recognises eco-friendly projects and awards them such bonds. UNFCCC is trying to bring down emission of six major greenhouse gases by five per cent by 2012.

The UN body awards one carbon bond for preventing emission of every ton of carbon dioxide a year or equivalent of other major pollutants – methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride.

The BMRCL is confident of preventing the emission of many tonnes of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide because it expects scores of vehicles users to shift to it. Vehicles run on petrol or diesel emit heavy loads of the two gases. Since the Metro runs on electricity, it hardly emits any of the greenhouse gases directly.

The fact that it does use some energy, however, means it is still contributing to formation of greenhouse gases. But the amount of the dangerous gases it saves is far higher than that.

BMRCL’s Conservator of Forests and Environment Officer C. Jayaram told The Hindu that the quantum of carbon saved would be worked out using a systematic method. BMRCL would identify the per capita greenhouse gas produced by Ba ngaloreans while using vehicles on the one hand and the quantum of greenhouse gas produced while running the Metro, on the other.

In the next step, the BMRCL would identify the number of persons who shifted to the Metro.

Then, it would work out the total greenhouse gases people who shifted to the Metro would have otherwise produced. You will get to know the exact quantity of greenhouse gases saved when you take out from this figure the total greenhouse gases produced while running the Metro, he says.

What enthuses the BMRCL is that the international agreement, known as Kyoto Protocol, makes it binding on polluting industries or projects to buy the carbon bonds if they are not able to bring down their emission levels to the targets set under it (the Kyoto Protocol).

The international attempt to cut down greenhouse gases is important for India because global warming and the resultant rise in the sea level that follows melting of glaciers could lead to submergence of many low-lying areas on Indian east coast, including some parts of the famous Sunderbans, according to Mr. Jayaram.

The term carbon bond comes from the fact that carbon dioxide is the predominant greenhouse gas, and other gases are measured in units called “carbon-dioxide equivalents.”
Source: THe Hindu, 21st August 2007

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