Centre proposes draft rules for Green Credit Programme

Centre proposes draft rules for Green Credit Programme

Subject :Schemes

Context:

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has notified draft rules for ‘Green Credit’.

Green Credit Programme:

• It was first announced by Union Finance Minister in the 2023-24 budget with a view to leverage a competitive market-based approach and incentivise voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders.
• Green Credit is an incentive that individuals, farmer-producer organisations (FPO), industries, rural and urban local bodies, among other stakeholders, will be able to earn for environment-positive actions.
• By ‘green credit’, the government means a singular unit of an incentive provided for a specified activity, delivering a positive impact on the environment.
• 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 to generating or buying green credits.
• The activities include:
  • Tree plantation-based green credit: To promote activities for increasing the green cover across the country through tree plantation and related activities
  • Water-based green credit: To promote water conservation, water harvesting and water use efficiency / savings, including treatment and reuse of wastewater
  • 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
  • Waste management-based green credit: To promote sustainable and improved practices for waste management, including collection, segregation and treatment
  • Air pollution reduction-based green credit: To promote measures for reducing air pollution and other pollution abatement activities
  • Mangrove conservation and restoration-based green credit: To promote measures for conservation and restoration of mangroves
  • Ecomark-based green credit: To encourage manufacturers to obtain ‘Ecomark’ label for their goods and services
  • Sustainable building and infrastructure-based green credit: To encourage the construction of buildings and other infrastructure using sustainable technologies and materials
• The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education shall be the administrator of the programme. The institute will develop guidelines, processes and procedures for the 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.
• Concern include:
  • Greenwashing
  • Maintenance and monitoring challenges
  • Fraud in utility of resources

Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education:

• Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) is an apex body in the national forestry research system.
• It undertakes the holistic promotion of forestry research through need-based planning, promoting, conducting and coordinating research, education and extension covering all aspects of forestry.
• The ICFRE has eight Regional Research Institutes and four Research Centres located in different bio-geographical regions of the country to cater for the forestry research needs of the nation.

Its objectives are:

1. To undertake, aid, promote and coordinate forestry education, research and their applications.
2. To develop and maintain a national library and information centre for forestry and allied sciences.
3. To act as a clearing-house for research and general information related to forests and wildlife.
4. To develop forestry extension programmes and propagate the same through mass media, audio-visual aids and extension machinery.