Green Credit Program: What is this program about!

Prior to its implementation, the Ministry of Law and Justice examined the Green Credit Programme (GCP), which was introduced by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change in 2023, to determine whether its underlying business model was lawful.

In exchange for tradable credits, this large-scale government program seeks to promote voluntary involvement in a variety of industries, such as plantations and water conservation. A pilot project is currently underway that focuses on eco-restoration of degraded lands and tree planting.

The Green Credit Program: What is it?

At the yearly United Nations climate conference in Dubai on December 1, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan formally unveiled the GCP. The program's goals are to support the Center's LiFE (Lifestyle for Sustainable Environment) mission and encourage eco-friendly behavior in response to climate change.

The Green Credit Rules, which describe the objectives and methods of implementation of the program, were released by the Union Environment Ministry in October 2023.

At its core, the GCP promotes voluntary involvement (i.e., investments) from people, companies, sectors, and other organizations in seven different environmental improvement activities, including waste management, water conservation, and tree planting. The creation of "green credits," which can be exchanged on a domestic market platform to purchasers seeking to meet current legal requirements or sustainability goals, is the reward for this participation.

How are green credits going to be calculated?

The Center first launched the project with a tree planting pilot program, which was later expanded to include eco-restoration activities. These include planting grasses, shrubs, and herbs, as well as conserving soil moisture, collecting rainwater, and other comparable techniques that are adapted to the particular site conditions.

The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) in Dehradun will be the principal administrator of the GCP pilot project pertaining to tree planting and eco-restoration. Each degraded land parcel must be at least five hectares in size. Plantations will be built on these parcels, which may include open forests, scrublands, wastelands, and catchment areas.

Finding these parcels of land falls within the purview of the state and union territory forest departments. Those who are interested must register and apply with ICFRE. The applicants will receive the designated land parcels after their applications have been reviewed and a fee has been paid. The forest department will be in charge of carrying out and maintaining the tree plantations, and the planting needs to be finished within two years of payment.

Upon reaching a minimum tree density of 1,100 trees per hectare, in compliance with local silvi-climatic conditions, and after receiving certification of completion from the forest department, each mature tree grown on the assigned land parcels will be credited as one green credit.

According to the Green Credit Rules, the program's objective is to encourage businesses, industries, and other organizations to meet their current commitments or any other applicable legal requirements.

In April 2024, 400 citizens and more than 100 environmental organizations called on the government to scrap the plan. Their plea made clear that planting trees carelessly is not a good way to make up for the loss of old-growth forests.