The global push for sustainable development in 2025 marks the urgent need to balance economic growth with environmental protection. Traditional growth models have exceeded planetary limits, making it essential to adopt cleaner technologies and sustainable practices. Carbon markets have emerged as a tool to incentivise low-carbon development, especially in countries like India. However, these markets face challenges linked to community rights, equity, and governance.
Growth and Environmental Limits
The Industrial Revolution model of growth has caused environmental harm. Developing countries cannot afford to halt growth due to poverty and hunger. The solution lies in decoupling economic growth from environmental damage. Cleaner energy, sustainable agriculture, and resource efficiency are key to this transition. India’s rapid solar energy expansion and micro-irrigation adoption demonstrate this approach.
About Carbon Credits
Carbon credits quantify greenhouse gas reductions or removals. They are generated through renewable energy, reforestation, and sustainable farming. Firms buy credits to offset emissions while moving towards cleaner methods. India is developing its Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) with emission benchmarks and voluntary offsets. The scheme includes a national registry and draft methods for biomass and low-emission agriculture.
Challenges in Agricultural Carbon Projects
Despite potential, agriculture-based carbon projects lag globally and in India. Only a few Indian projects under Verra have registered, with none issuing credits. Weak farmer engagement, insufficient training, and marginalised groups’ exclusion hinder progress. This gap limits the benefits of carbon markets for smallholders and vulnerable communities.
Risks of Exploitation in Carbon Markets
Carbon projects can replicate exploitative power structures if community rights are ignored. The Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project illustrates risks of bypassing consent and weakening land rights. Although community-led in principle, the project faced criticism for poor governance and lack of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). Similar issues arose in Kenya’s Lake Turkana Wind Power project, where fencing restricted pastoralists’ access to resources.
Implications for India’s Carbon Market
India’s carbon projects risk repeating these mistakes. Afforestation and agriculture projects may encroach on customary lands, disrupting livelihoods without proper consent. Marginalised caste farmers often miss out on benefits. The Kenyan experience warns that without securing land rights and fair benefit-sharing, carbon markets may perpetuate inequality under the guise of climate action.
Governance and Regulatory Needs
Power imbalances and lack of transparency expose communities to exploitation. India’s CCTS emphasises compliance but lacks strong safeguards for land rights and equitable revenue sharing. Overregulation could stifle innovation, so a balanced, lightweight regulatory framework is needed. This framework should ensure transparency, formalise benefit-sharing, protect community rights, and involve stakeholder consultations to build trust and integrity.
Questions for UPSC:
- Discuss in the light of sustainable development how economic growth can be decoupled from environmental degradation, with examples from renewable energy adoption.
- Critically examine the role of carbon credit markets in climate change mitigation and their socio-economic impacts on vulnerable communities.
- Explain the concept of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and its significance in environmental governance. How does it influence the success of community-led conservation projects?
- With suitable examples, discuss the challenges of balancing environmental sustainability and community rights in large infrastructure or energy projects in developing countries.
Answer Hints:
1. Discuss in the light of sustainable development how economic growth can be decoupled from environmental degradation, with examples from renewable energy adoption.
- Decoupling means achieving economic growth without proportional increase in environmental harm or resource use.
- Cleaner technologies like solar and wind energy reduce carbon emissions while supporting growth.
- India’s rapid expansion of solar power and micro-irrigation showcases sustainable growth models.
- Sustainable agriculture practices (e.g., low-emission rice cultivation) help reduce environmental footprint.
- Renewable energy adoption creates jobs and improves energy access, supporting poverty reduction.
- Policy frameworks and investments incentivize clean energy, enabling green growth pathways.
2. Critically examine the role of carbon credit markets in climate change mitigation and their socio-economic impacts on vulnerable communities.
- Carbon credits incentivize greenhouse gas reduction through renewable energy, reforestation, and sustainable farming.
- They help firms offset emissions while transitioning to low-carbon technologies.
- Carbon markets can reward developing countries for climate-friendly practices, promoting sustainable development.
- However, weak governance and lack of transparency risk exploitation of local communities and land rights violations.
- Marginalized groups often face exclusion from benefits due to power asymmetries and poor engagement.
- Examples like Kenya’s Northern Rangelands project show risks of bypassing consent and replicating colonial power structures.
3. Explain the concept of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and its significance in environmental governance. How does it influence the success of community-led conservation projects?
- FPIC requires obtaining consent from indigenous/local communities before initiating projects affecting their lands or resources.
- “Free” means without coercion; “Prior” means before project starts; “Informed” means full disclosure of impacts and benefits.
- FPIC safeguards community rights, ensuring respect for customary land use and decision-making autonomy.
- Lack of FPIC leads to conflict, mistrust, and project failures, as seen in Kenya’s carbon and wind power projects.
- Successful community-led conservation depends on FPIC to ensure local ownership and equitable benefit-sharing.
- FPIC promotes transparency, accountability, and long-term sustainability of environmental initiatives.
4. With suitable examples, discuss the challenges of balancing environmental sustainability and community rights in large infrastructure or energy projects in developing countries.
- Large projects often require land use changes that disrupt local livelihoods and customary resource access.
- Examples – Kenya’s Lake Turkana Wind Power fenced community rangelands, restricting grazing and water access.
- Top-down governance and lack of community consultation can marginalize vulnerable groups and violate land rights.
- Carbon projects in India risk repeating these issues by encroaching on village commons without adequate consent.
- Balancing sustainability and rights requires transparent governance, stakeholder engagement, and fair benefit-sharing.
- Legal frameworks must protect community rights while enabling sustainable development without bureaucratic delays.
