The international carbon credit market holds great potential for plantation companies in Kerala willing to invest in biomass generation projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimise the impact of climate change, according to Ajith Menon, CEO of the Singapore- based DES Mapping Solutions, global consultants on climate change.
Mr. Menon was in the city to initiate discussions with the Group of Technology Companies (GTech) on helping IT enterprises in Kerala to set up business in Singapore. Talking to The Hindu, he said the Green Business concept was catching on in developing countries, signalling a new market trend.
He said investments in renewable energy and reforestation could make economic sense for plantation companies in Kerala. “Today, a lot of finance companies are funding natural resource projects. They find it attractive because developing 5000 sq. km of forests can create 20 to 50 million USD worth of carbon credits”.
With its expertise in remote sensing, mapping and geographic information system (GIS), the Des group specialises in IT-based modelling to develop standard methodology for carbon reduction projects like reforestation. Explaining the nature of the work, he said it involved the use of high resolution remote sensing data to analyse the land use history and estimate the biomass requirement for the proposed project.
The company has tied up with Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), a greenhouse gas accounting programme used by projects around the world to verify and issue carbon credits in voluntary markets. It is partnering with small investors in Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam having biomass to sell.
“If the Green Business concept has to set in, there has to be a realisation that there is money in climate change adaptation. It is not just corporate social responsibility any more, creating forests also generates money like logging, there is as much money in restoring mines as in extracting from them. Building Green business is a complete ecosystem”.
India, Mr.Menon said, was the largest CDM (clean development mechanism) market.
The Des group has developed a data appliance that helps clients interested in gaining carbon credits. The product, he said, was based on a new technology that fell between Cloud computing and server- based IT infrastructure. “It offers precision modelling at a fraction of the cost incurred in using satellite images. The client can access the data hosted in the DES appliance by paying an annual subscription. Security is ensured because the device sits behind the company’s firewall”.
