ON June 26, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change issued the draft ‘Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules 2023’ under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
The draft has proposed the generation and trading of green credits. This ’Green Credit Programme’ is the flagship national initiative to create a matrix for the trading of Green Credits—which in real terms is nothing but incentives for initiatives adopted by individuals, institutions, companies, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises, sustainable agriculture enterprises, urban and rural local bodies, industries, organisations and associations towards sustainable environmental practices.
“Apart from incentivising individual/ community behaviour, the Green Credit Programme will encourage 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 for generating or buying green credits,” the draft said.
Sectors identified
The sectors that have been identified in the first round of credit generation through this programme are Tree Plantation, Water-based Green Credit, Sustainable Agriculture, Waste Management, Air Pollution Reduction, Mangrove Conservation and Restoration, Ecomark based Green Credit, Sustainable building and infrastructure. It is expected that the implementation will be in phases with roughly two-three activities from each sector to be incorporated for the pilot-level rollout.
The Green Credit Programme is a followup to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement in the 2023 Budget. In her Budget speech, there was considerable emphasis on ‘green growth’. Outlining it as one of the seven priorities of the Government, Sitharaman had in her speech described them as the ‘Saptarishi’ that will guide the country through the ‘Amrit Kaal’ during the next 25 years. Part of this agenda of green growth and focus on green energy was the launch of the ‘Green Credit Programme’ and multiple other sustainable initiatives.
PM’s LiFE Vision
“Hon’ble Prime Minister has given a vision for ‘LiFE’, or Lifestyle for Environment, to spur a movement of an environmentally conscious lifestyle. India is moving forward firmly for the ‘panchamrit’ and net-zero carbon emission by 2070 to usher in a green industrial and economic transition.
This Budget builds on our focus on green growth,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech and added, “PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth” (PMPranam) will be launched to incentivise States and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilisers and balanced use of chemical fertilisers.”
Among the other green initiatives outlined in the Budget and driving the Green Credit Programme include: l Facilitating one crore farmers to adopt natural (chemical pesticide/fertilisers-free) farming in the next three years. To drive this initiative, the Government will set up “10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres –a nationwide network to encourage this style of farming. l The ‘Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes’ (MISHTI), which will encourage optimal use of wetlands through the GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme.
Programme working
So how will the Green Credit Programme work? What the Government scheme envisages is the establishment of a domestic market/ trading platform where both individuals and institutions can trade their earned green credits. Those with accumulated credits can sell to prospective buyers literally like a stock market, thereby facilitating the transfer of one person or institution’s hard work in sustaining the environment to be rewarded through cash and for another individual or organisation to benefit from that effort by paying and improving their green balance sheet. At the heart of this blueprint is the opportunity given to a large number of entities to make money out of their commitment to the environment.
“The trading platform for the exchange of green credits shall be established by the trading service provider accredited by the administrator in accordance with the approved guidelines,” said the draft.
A positive beginning
Well-known website Mongabay India, which focuses on the environment in India, quoted Avantika Goswami, programme manager for climate change at the Centre for Science and Environment: “Even tracking carbon credits, which focuses on just one gas, is a complex exercise that is challenging to regulate. Extending that same method to other ecosystems and pollution areas creates a strong risk of greenwashing.
It also raises serious questions about how rigorous the monitoring will be and who should take responsibility for pollution reduction and biodiversity savings.”
It is an important point. However, without putting in place a programme one really will not be able to assess the challenges or measure the sustainability and credibility of the programme. That the announcement has initiated a health discourse and by and large the scheme has been welcomed is a positive beginning.
