SL to strike it rich with carbon trading

By Nadia Fazlulhaq

The Environment Ministry is taking measures to establish a Carbon Fund and make it the main foreign currency earning source of the country through greenhouse gas emission reduction trading (Carbon Trading). Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka has submitted a Cabinet Memorandum on the establishment of the Sri Lanka Carbon Fund which was approved.

Central Environmental Authority Chairman Udaya Gammanpila said the establishment of the Carbon Fund was a direct result following deliberations made at the Kyoto Protocol at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The main objective of the protocol was to reduce the emission of six green house gases including carbon dioxide.

“A carbon quota has been given for each country and if any country had exceeded the amount, it will have to be brought down immediately or it will be taxed. The monies collected from the countries which have exceeded their quotas will be given to the countries which have released a small amount or underutilized their quotas, to be used for environment conservation,” he said.

The Environment Ministry is hoping to minimize the emission of green house gases and underutilize the quota and so claim a bigger amount from the fund which will be used for eco-friendly projects. “We are hoping to reduce carbon emission by reforestation, garbage recycling and reducing the carbon released by vehicles and are hoping to introduce strict regulations once technical assistance and necessary equipment are brought down. Introducing of two-stroke three wheelers is one step of this huge process,” said Mr. Gammanpila.