Examples of GIZ’s work: India reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 163 million tonnes

Although India has comparatively low emissions per capita, in absolute terms globally it is the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases. It is also one of the countries worst affected by climate change. The Indian Government is therefore taking measures to mitigate climate change. This includes support for the central UN climate change agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, which established the Clean Development Mechanism. The mechanism is designed to enable economic progress without serious negative impacts to the climate, and is adapted to the specific needs of developing countries and emerging economies.

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH advised the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the assessment and approval of over 2,500 climate change mitigation projects. ‘In total, we have reduced about 163 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions through CDM projects in India. That is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the entire transport sector in Germany’, explained Enrico Rubertos, who is responsible for the Global Carbon Markets project in India.

Specifically, GIZ supports the Indian Ministry in building up the necessary skills and administrative structures to carry out the approval process. Developing appropriate instruments for quality control of the projects is an important element. Furthermore, GIZ is working with the Indian Ministry to build up capacities in the private sector for developing and implementing projects.

GIZ is also supporting developing countries and emerging economies in drawing up and realising mechanisms for environmentally friendly progress, for example in Brazil, Uganda, the Middle East and North Africa.