Emission cuts to augur well for BMTC, KSRTC

Emission cuts to augur well for BMTC, KSRTC
Deccan Herald

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) have embarked on Carbon trading initiative through quantitative reduction in emissions that could lead to sustained income for the two state transport undertakings under the Kyoto Protocol.

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) have embarked on Carbon trading initiative through quantitative reduction in emissions that could lead to sustained income for the two state transport undertakings under the Kyoto Protocol.

While BMTC has proposed to earn Certified Emission Reduction (CER) by using bio-diesel in 280 of its buses, KSRTC proposes to introduce the mechanism and also ethanol blended diesel in 5,000 buses, top officials of the undertakings told Deccan Herald.

Speaking at a workshop on ‘Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)’, organised by the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings and BMTC, Mr P S Sandhu, Director (Security, vigilance, environment), BMTC said the corporation, under its ‘fuel switch project’ will switch 280 of its buses from petrol-diesel to 20 per cent blended bio-fuel by March 2007. Trials have proved that using blended bio-fuel not only reduces emission levels substantially, but also increases the mileage.


Kyoto protocol

As per the CDM adopted in Kyoto, the corporation will earn CER as an economic incentive. In quantum terms, the present incentive is $ 10 for every one tonne of emission reduction. With the help of CDM, developed countries with very high carbon emission levels, have set themselves an emission reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol.

Such countries could aim at achieving the reduction at lower cost by transferring the burden to a developed country by offering cash incentives to initiate emission reduction schemes.

BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripati said BMTC would be earning Rs 51 per bus per day, if its fuel switch project is registered by the CDM Executive Board.

Mr Sandhu said if all the 4,000 buses in the BMTC fleet switch over to bio-diesel, the corporation will earn US $ 1.9 million a year through carbon trade. However, the annual requirement of bio-fuel will be a whopping 1.46 lakh MT, although the price would be more or less the same as diesel.

Meanwhile, KSRTC too has plans to use bio-fuels, ethanol blended diesel and go in for engine tuning for 5,000 of its buses. KSRTC Environment Officer P S Anandrao said the corporation would be reducing 44,000 tonnes of carbon-di-oxide emission per year.

In his address, Mr Samel Zimmerman, Urban Transport Advisor, World Bank said the carbon trading market had the potential to touch 20 billion dollars in the next few years. India stood second after China in terms of carbon trade volume, at 15 per cent, he said.

Transport Department Principal Secretary D Tangaraj said the CDM should be extended to other state transport corporations and the use of bio-fuels to more buses.