August 5, 2007 - Thimphu: Pray for more industries and pollution elsewhere. Bhutan may reap the benefits of global warming in hard cash.

If qualified as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, Punatsangchu-1 and the upcoming Dagachu projects could earn Bhutan Nu 24 billion a year from carbon trade.

In simple terms, carbon trade is turning the harmful greenhouse gases into commodities like gold, salt or chilies that can be traded in the market.

CDM is a program under the Kyoto Protocol, the U.N.-brokered agreement that set limits for carbon and other harmful emissions by companies in industrialized nations. Under the treaty, nations that emit less than their quota of greenhouse gases will be able to sell carbon credits to polluting nations. The mechanism is created to help finance environmentally sustainable development projects in the developing countries as well as to allow the developed countries to partly fulfill their commitment on the reduction of carbon emissions. [Source: BhutanTimes]

Tags

• carbon emissions
• environmental
• industries
• kyoto protocol
• pollution