Kattakada inches towards carbon neutral tag

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Moving a step closer to achieving the status of countrys first carbon neutral assembly constituency, the second carbon audit report of Kattakada constituency shows a 46.75% reduction in annual emission compared to 81.7% in 2019-2020. The carbon audit was carried out by the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM). According to the report, the reduction in sectoral emissions from the baseline is observed across multiple sectors. A remarkable 99.5%reduction in carbon emission from the waste sector has been achieved through the Malinya Muktham Kattakada initiative. The reduction of emission in the energy sector (4.1 %) is attributed to the implementation of the Soura Project across various grama panchayats. The project Carbon Neutral Kattakada: A Climate Resilient Project was started by MLA I B Satheesh has now become a mass movement. Satheesh told TNIE, We have changed all schools and government offices in the constituency to solar power. In waste management, we implemented collecting different types of waste three times a week from each house, he said. In the agricultural sector, there is 85.8% reduction in carbon emission. This is the result of increased plantation activities. We had distributed jackfruit saplings to every household. We also distributed saplings of species included in the red data book of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Satheesh said. The report highlighted a reduction of 2.3% in carbon emission in the livestock sector. However, the audit also revealed that there is a substantial excess emissions from six grama panchayats -- Malayinkeezhu, Vilappil, Kattakada, Maranalloor, Pallichal and Vilavoorkkal -- in the constituency. Currently, the transport sector has shown an increase in emission compared to the baseline as there were less carbon reduction strategies implemented, the report said. Meanwhile, the audit report recommended the expansion of Soura Project to cover more households and institutions. By strengthening Malinya Muktham Kattakada, near to zero emission from waste sector must be implemented. Mandate procurement of zero emission buses, taxis and municipal vehicles should also be executed. Incentive schemes should be introduced too to encourage EV adoption, it added.