Delhi metro first to earn UN carbon credits

The Delhi Metro has become the first railway project in the world to get carbon credits from the UN for helping in reduction of greenhouse emissions.

The certification is part of the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The DMRC has helped cut greenhouse gas emissions earning carbon credits worth about Rs47 crore annually for the next seven years.

According to a DMRC spokesperson the figure would increase with the increase in the number of passengers.

The feat has been achieved thanks to the increasing numbers of commuters using the mode of transport, thus keeping other types of polluting vehicles off roads. The UN said the Delhi Metro has cut pollution levels in the city by 6.3 lakh tonnes every year, helping in abating the impact of global warming.

"Today, about 18 lakh people travel by Delhi Metro that is completely non-polluting and environment-friendly. But for the Metro, these people would have travelled by cars, buses, two/three wheelers, which would have resulted in GHG emission," the UN statement read. GHG gases that harm the environment include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter and others.

This is the second CDM project of Delhi Metro to be registered with the UN body in the last three years following the first CDM project which focused on regenerative braking - a technique for reducing power consumption.