India’s Carbon Stock Upgrades By 79.4 Million Tonnes

Quantum of carbon sequestration by a tree depend on various ecological and physical factors including trees species. As per India State of the Forest Report (ISFR) 2021, total carbon stock in forest is estimated as 7,204 million tonnes which include 529.47 million tonnes of carbon stock in plantation/ Trees Outside Forest. There is an increase of 79.4 million tonnes in carbon stock of the country as compared to the last assessment of 2019. The annual increase is 39.7 million tonnes, which is 145.6 million tonnes CO2eq.

India is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A Nationally Designated Authority for Implementation of Article 6 of Paris Agreement (NDAIAPA) has been notified which has a mandate for approval of projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement for carbon trading. Also, an Indian Carbon Market (ICM) is envisaged which will inter-alia have an offset mechanism. Under the offset mechanism, carbon credits may be generated and sold by the entities including farmers and Gram Panchayats.