The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has devised a plan to promote and sell its carbon credits to the World Bank, as a result of producing clean energy from hydel and solar sources without causing environmental pollution.
Carbon credits, which are permits that authorize a country or organization to emit a specific amount of carbon, can be traded internationally with organizations that have a higher carbon footprint.
In light of this, the energy and power department has submitted a proposal to the office of the KP Chief Secretary, asking for authorization to approach the World Bank for technical support and resources for certifying and promoting the carbon credits of the province.
This will enable the department to more effectively market these assets, owned by the provincial government, and secure its rightful share.
According to a proposal submitted by the KP government through the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO), the organization has a valid claim to its share in the carbon credits market.
The proposal notes that PEDO has been producing clean energy for nearly three decades and is currently generating 161.8 MW of hydel power through hydropower projects, 28,884 KW through community-owned micro hydel power stations, and 16,054.67 KW through various daily solar projects, all of which are connected to the national grid.
The energy department has already provided the power generation data to the climate change and environment department for the calculation of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).
The note says:
In this regard Pakistan Environment Trust (PET), an Islamabad-based not-for-profit organisation, has approached Pedo through the KP government to market its carbon credits. PET has estimated that these projects can fetch US$60 million annually for KP.
The proposal also states that, based on discussions with the PET (presumably the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization), it is expected that the organization will participate only in the offset market.