Niti Aayog explains how India can access carbon credits worth $50-60 billion

In India, there has been a long history of farming that is based on traditional and environment-friendly practices. The state of Sikkim became the first-ever organic state in the world and was awarded the UN Future Policy Gold Award, 2018.

Suggesting adoption of innovative farming methods based on ecological principles, Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar on Friday said India can have access to carbon credits worth USD 50-60 billion if it propagates natural farming and agroecology. Kumar during a virtual high-level round-table on ‘Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture’ also stressed on the need to make agriculture more knowledge intensive. He said there is a need to ensure that natural farming is scalable and absorbs innovations.

“We can also access green bonds market worth USD 1 trillion,” Kumar said, adding that India will have to practice agroecology as an innovative process and broaden the metrix for measuring results. “India can have access to USD 50-60 billion worth of carbon credits if it propagates natural farming and agroecology,” the Niti Aayog vice chairman said. “Can’t carry on with past practices because that is like driving a car in a dead end street. Need to change direction for saving the environment and improve farmers welfare,” he said.

In India, there has been a long history of farming that is based on traditional and environment-friendly practices. The state of Sikkim became the first-ever organic state in the world and was awarded the UN Future Policy Gold Award, 2018.

Agricultural production accounts for 40 per cent of global land surface and is responsible for 70 per cent of projected losses in terrestrial biodiversity. Moreover, agricultural activities are one of the main contributors to human emissions of greenhouse gases and responsible for 25 per cent of total emissions due to intensive fertiliser usage and deforestation, negatively impacting well-being of at least 3.2 billion people.