Home
Council on Energy, Environment and Water Integrated | International | Independent
Book Chapter

Domestic Measurement, Reporting, and Verification

CEEW
December 2018 |

Suggested citation: Council on Energy, Environment and Water. 2018. “Domestic Measurement, Reporting, and Verification” in India: Second Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. New Delhi: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.

Overview

This chapter in India’s Second Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change presents the existing state of Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) arrangement for various parameters in five key sectors. India’s measurement and review are confined to various financial and physical parameters that are embedded in the project design and are not meant particularly for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission mitigation.

Read: Domestic Measurement, Reporting, and Verification in the Third Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Key Highlights

  • For many sectors and schemes, India has well-established measurement and evaluation systems at the centre and state levels.
  • The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) receives regular data on generation and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) along with the various State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERC) monitor the generation efficiency of power plants.
  • All the power plants provide their data to the CEA, and this allows the calculation of absolute emissions and emissions intensity (in tonnes of CO2 per MWh) on a regular basis.
  • To promote more transparency and real-time tracking of power sector developments, the government has introduced several information-technology enabled initiatives such as the Vidyut Pravah mobile application and the UDAY dashboard pertaining to electricity generation and consumption.
  • A regulatory measure in the form of renewable purchase obligation (RPO) introduced in 2003 sets a minimum requirement on renewable energy in the procured electricity mix for utilities and large consumers, and distribution licensees.
  • A Central Agency Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) is responsible for scrutiny and issuance of the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) - an MRV mechanism for RECs.
  • The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has developed the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) which ensures a minimum standard for energy use in new buildings and major retrofits.
  • For energy conservation within the industry segment, the government has introduced several mechanisms-based reforms such as the Perform
  • Achieve and Trade (PAT) and Zero Effect Zero Defect (ZED) scheme.
  • The Indian Railways in its annual statistical publication monitors fuel consumption (coal, electricity and diesel), the overall tonnage of freight transport, and distances over which it is hauled.
  • Indian Railways operations are now included in the PAT–II cycle, which has an inbuilt MRV process that will better establish the overall improvement in performance in terms of energy efficiency.
  • Delhi Metro is the first railway project in the world that is registered under the Clean Development Mechanism, namely regenerative braking project, modal shift project, and energy efficiency project. These are under a complete MRV system for GHG mitigation.
  • India State of Forest Report (ISFR) by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), gives a comprehensive assessment of the forest sector. Apart from the regular assessment of forests, MoEFCC has developed tools like Decision Support System (DSS) and e-Green Watch that facilitate informed decisions in matters dealing with the use of forest land and resources.
  • The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has set up a Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture Monitoring, Modelling & Networking (CCSAMMN) system that would support and monitor climate change adaptation/ mitigation research/modelling projects.
  • The central and state pollution control boards play a vital role in monitoring and evaluating the performance of the waste sector in India.
  • Although most existing MRV systems do not directly track GHG emissions and mitigation impact, existing reporting is useful in arriving at reasonable estimates of the impact of policies.
  • Establishing an integrated domestic MRV system for the assessment of GHG mitigation actions is a capacity building need for India.
  • To develop specific (consolidated) monitoring and verification process for GHG inventory and mitigation actions in India, additional finance and capacity building would be required.

An integrated MRV system requires streamlined data management systems, technical capacity, improved analytical capabilities, and most importantly, active coordination between all stakeholders and the various nodal agencies within the government.

Sign up for the latest on our pioneering research