GREEN CREDIT PROGRAMME
- According to a notification issued by the Environment Ministry, the Green Credit programme encourages private sector industries and companies as well as other entities to meet their existing obligations, stemming from other legal frameworks, by taking actions which are able to converge with activities relevant to generating or buying Green Credits.
- The main objectives of the Green Credit Programme (GCP) are to create a market-based mechanism for providing incentives in the form of Green Credits to individuals, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises, sustainable agriculture enterprises, urban and rural local bodies, private sectors, industries and organisations for environment positive actions.
- Green Credits will arise from a range of sectors and entities, ranging from small-scale ones such as individuals, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises and sustainable agriculture enterprises to those being developed at the level of urban and rural local bodies, private sectors, industries and organisation
- Green Credits will be tradable outcomes and will act as incentives. In the beginning, Green Credits will be made available to individuals and entities, engaged in selected activities and who undertake environmental interventions
The activities include:
1. Tree plantation-based green credit: To promote activities for increasing the green cover across the country through tree plantation and related activities
2. Water-based green credit: To promote water conservation, water harvesting and water use efficiency / savings, including treatment and reuse of wastewater
3. Sustainable agriculture-based green credit: To promote natural and regenerative agricultural practices and land restoration to improve productivity, soil health and nutritional value of food produced
4. Waste management-based green credit: To promote sustainable and improved practices for waste management, including collection, segregation and treatment
5. Air pollution reduction-based green credit: To promote measures for reducing air pollution and other pollution abatement activities
6. Mangrove conservation and restoration-based green credit: To promote measures for conservation and restoration of mangroves
7. Ecomark-based green credit: To encourage manufacturers to obtain ‘Ecomark’ label for their goods and services
8. Sustainable building and infrastructure-based green credit: To encourage the construction of buildings and other infrastructure using sustainable technologies and materials
Through the programme, thresholds and benchmarks will be developed for each green credit activity
4. Administration of GCP
- The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education shall be the administrator of the programme.
- The institute will develop guidelines, processes and procedures for implementation of the programme and develop methodologies and standards, registration process and associated measurement, reporting and verification mechanisms
- The green credits will be tradable and those earning it will be able to put these credits up for sale on a proposed domestic market platform
5. Way forward
It was first announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the 2023-24 budget with a view to leverage a competitive market-based approach and incentivise voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders
It also raises serious questions about how rigour of monitoring will be maintained and who should take the responsibility for pollution reduction and biodiversity savings, she added.
She also pointed out that the capacity that will have to be built to monitor these systems and prevent fraud will use resources that could have been diverted to more transformational pollution control and biodiversity protection efforts, regulated and mandated by the government.
Source: DownToEarth
