SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir is looking to tap its agriculture, forestry and hydropower sectors to generate revenue through carbon credits, with the administration working on a framework to monetise the Union Territory’s ecological assets.
Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Friday chaired a meeting to review the proposed Carbon Credit Framework for J&K, which seeks to create sustainable revenue streams through carbon markets and green financing.
The proposed framework, prepared by the Centre for Innovation and Transformation in Governance (CITaG) in collaboration with the Finance Department, is built around four pillars: carbon markets, green cess, convergence and a dedicated Green Fund.
Dulloo called for a comprehensive policy document along with a clearly defined Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for implementing the framework across J&K.
He also directed CITaG to organise a specialised capacity-building workshop for departments to familiarise officials with carbon accounting, data standards and implementation responsibilities.
Emphasising the need for technology-driven monitoring and transparency, the Chief Secretary suggested exploring collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) for developing an integrated digital monitoring platform and carbon registry.
Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Shailendra Kumar said agriculture, hydropower and forestry offered significant potential for generating carbon credits and attracting green investments.
He asked CITaG to prioritise these sectors while also examining opportunities from rooftop solar installations under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana and the growing adoption of electric vehicles in J&K.
Kumar also called for early establishment of a dedicated Green Fund to pool carbon proceeds and other green revenues and use them to finance climate-resilient development initiatives.
The meeting was informed that despite substantial investments in environmentally sustainable activities, J&K has so far not generated revenue from global carbon markets.
CITaG cited examples from other parts of the country, saying the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had earned Rs 27 crore, Gujarat Rs 22 crore, Indore Municipal Corporation Rs 8.34 crore and Himachal Pradesh Rs 20 crore through carbon credit monetisation and similar initiatives.
The proposed framework also seeks to integrate carbon screening into existing programmes such as CAMPA, MGNREGS and the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), with the aim of maximising environmental and financial returns while avoiding duplication of expenditure.
A revenue-sharing mechanism proposed during the meeting envisages 35 per cent of net carbon proceeds going to primary growers or community project owners, 30 per cent to the J&K Green Fund, 15 per cent to Farmer Producer Organisations and aggregators, and 10 per cent each to district-level climate initiatives and sector-specific sustainability accounts.
The meeting also discussed introducing a Green Tourism Contribution to mobilise resources for climate resilience and environmental conservation at major tourist destinations.
Under a proposed 180-day roadmap, the administration plans to prepare a comprehensive inventory of green assets, identify five to seven priority pilot projects across the Jammu and Srinagar municipal corporations, agriculture and forestry sectors, and establish a secure digital repository for project-related data.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Finance, Science and Technology, Power Development, municipal administration, forests and other departments, besides technical experts from CITaG.
The proposed framework is aimed at creating an institutional and financial mechanism to convert J&K’s environmental assets and climate-positive investments into measurable economic returns for local communities and the Union Territory.
