Mumbai: BEST gears up to earn carbon credits

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari at the launch of BEST’s first double-decker electric bus. BEST has already replaced 400 of its buses with electric ones. File pic

The iconic BEST Undertaking is now in the global race to earn carbon credits for its city transport. With key green projects of electric, hybrid buses and solar charging, the more than a century-old public transport company, which completed 75 years of municipalisation this year, has now planned to procure and trade in carbon credits on a global platform. Carbon credits are measurable, verifiable emission reductions from certified climate action projects. These projects reduce, remove or avoid greenhouse gas emissions.

"BEST has started on a dedicated green energy path. The undertaking has already replaced 400 buses with electric ones and has begun the process of procuring 3,000 electric buses by 2023. It plans to convert the entire fleet of over 10,000 buses to electric ones by 2025. Moreover, since 2007, about 60 per cent of the fleet is being operated on CNG. For charging of electric buses, the undertaking is also signing a deal with the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) to procure 700 MW of energy," a senior official said.

Also Read: Mumbai: Aam Aadmi Party eyes BMC with free water and bus rides ahead of civic polls

He added, "There are already approved methodologies under global standards for development of carbon offset projects in the electric vehicle (EV) domain. Clean Development Mechanism, Global Carbon Council, Verified/Voluntary Carbon Standard, Gold Standard - all allow for EV projects to be registered for emission reductions by electric and hybrid vehicles. BEST intends to use the Global Carbon Council as the platform given they have approved all clean development mechanism methodologies."

"We have now called for experts and consultants to coordinate with BEST and identify all eligible projects - past, present, and future - as well as monitor, collect baseline data and make a roadmap to facilitate the choosing of BEST projects with regard to carbon credits, generate them and eventually trade carbon credits to a suitable buyer and bring revenue to the bank account of BEST," the official said. "We have stepped up conversion of all our buses to electric vehicles and soon become one of the key public transporters to have an all-electric fleet of buses," he added.

2025
Year by when BEST aims to convert its entire fleet to electric buses