TAG: GS 2: POLITY
THE CONTEXT: Central government tweaks the green credit programme norms.
EXPLANATION:
- The Green Credit Programme (GCP) aims to incentivize environmental positive actions through a market-based mechanism, with a focus on restoring degraded forest ecosystems.
- The recent policy tweaks by the Union Environment Ministry seek to clarify and enhance the effectiveness of the program.
- The Environment Ministry emphasizes the importance of prioritizing ecosystem restoration over mere tree planting for financial gains.
- This shift underscores the need for holistic approaches to ecosystem management and highlights the program’s commitment to ecological sustainability.
- Thirteen states have already identified 387 parcels of degraded forest land, covering nearly 10,983 hectares, for restoration under the GCP.
- The involvement of both public and private entities, including major companies like Indian Oil and Coal India, demonstrates broad support for the initiative.
Operational Mechanisms
- Under the program, organizations and individuals can invest in afforestation projects on degraded forest lands through the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).
- The planted trees are evaluated after two years, with each tree potentially earning one ‘green credit.’
- These credits can be utilized for compliance with forest laws or corporate social responsibility requirements.
Tradeability of Green Credits
- While the current credits are non-tradeable, the program’s future trajectory indicates a shift towards tradability, aligning with market-based principles.
- Tradable green credits could provide additional incentives for participation and facilitate greater flexibility in meeting environmental obligations.
Guidelines for Restoration
- The Ministry has issued guidelines for states to calculate restoration costs, allowing flexibility in defining reforestation criteria.
- This approach acknowledges the diversity of degraded forest landscapes and encourages the use of indigenous species to promote ecosystem resilience.
Challenges and Considerations
- Several challenges remain, including quantifying the contribution of shrubs and grasses to green credits and determining the equivalence between green and carbon credits.
- These complexities highlight the need for ongoing refinement and adaptation of the program.
Green Credit Programme (GCP):
- Green Credit Program (GCP) has been notified on 13th October 2023.
- The Green Credits Programme (GCP) is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in India.
- It is an innovative market-based mechanism designed to incentivize voluntary environmental actions by generating and trading green credits across diverse sectors, by various stakeholders like individuals, communities, companies etc.
- Green credits are tradable units that represent a specified environmental activity and its positive impact on the environment.
- The GCP’s governance framework is supported by an inter-ministerial Steering Committee.
- The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) serves as the GCP Administrator, responsible for program implementation, management, monitoring, and operation.
- In its initial phase, the GCP focuses on two key activities:
- Water conservation and
- Afforestation
- Draft methodologies for awarding Green Credits have been developed and will be notified for stakeholder consultation.
- These methodologies set benchmarks for each activity/process, to ensure environmental impact and fungibility across sectors.
- The Green Credit Registry and trading platform, being developed by ICFRE along with experts, would facilitate the registration and thereafter, the buying and selling of Green Credits.
- The Administrator will grant a Green Credit certificate which will be tradable on the green credit platform.