Kathmandu, March 17:

With a view to create awareness and press home the importance of clean development mechanism in the industrial sector, a half-day long seminar on ‘Clean Development Mechanism and Business Opportunities’ was organised yesterday.

The programme was organised jointly by the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MOEST) and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) in collaboration with Joshi and Bhandary and Winrock International.

The programme was supported by Ernst and Young.

According to a press release, the Kyoto Protocol 1997 commits industrialised nations to reduce pollution by at least five per cent below the 1990 level by 2008-2012. The protocol gives parties credit for reducing emission in other countries.

“The Kyoto Protocol allows industrialised countries with emission reduction commitment to procure certified emission reductions (CERs) from eco-friendly, development-oriented projects, which reduce GHG emission, known as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. It is one of the three mechanisms designed for obtaining the credits for financing emission reduction in GHG in developing countries.”

Says a press statement, CDM has created an opportunity for Nepali industries by taking credit of GHG reduction. Business entities in countries that have set reduction limits, as per the protocol, will in turn purchase carbon credits created by reduced emissions in Nepal, it is said.