Dehli Metro becomes the first railway in the world to earn UN carbon credits

The Metro in Dehli has become the first railway to earn carbon credits from the UN for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.The UN revealed that the railway had helped reduce carbon emissions in the city by 630,000 tonnes a year.

Carbon credits are part of the clean development mechanism, which looks to encourage firms in developing countries to cut their emissions. To become part of the scheme the firm needs to provide conclusive proof that they have cut emissions, something no other railway has managed to do.

The metro was launched in 2002 and is one of the most modern rail networks in the world, taking decades of planning to implement. It is hoped to be the answer to Dehli’s traffic chaos, with further lines opening last year. Currently 1.8 million people use the system daily. There are plans to extend the metro with 2 new lines and massive extensions to the existing system in the next decade.

It has now earned 400,000 carbon credits and will now get $9.5m (£6.1m) in carbon credits annually for seven years, with possible increases available as the extension take more people off the roads.