World Bank, Himachal sign carbon credit agreement

SHIMLA: World Bank on Sunday signed an agreement with Himachal Pradesh government for what is to be the world’s largest and India’s first clean development mechanism (CDM) project. Under this, the bank will buy carbon credits from the new forests being developed on degraded lands under a watershed management programme. In presence of chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, the agreement was signed by Hurber Nove Josserand, deputy country director, World Bank, on behalf of International Bank for Reconstruction & Development: World Bank Bio Carbon Fund, and Sudripto Roy, additional chief secretary forests on behalf of the state government. The agreement would be in force till December 2018. Speaking after signing of the agreement, Josserand said the project would impact an area of 4,003.07 hectares. The figure for the area surpasses the 3,500 hectares for CDM project of China, to make it the largest project of its kind in the world.