Centre tweaks green credit programme norms

Subject: Schemes

Sec: Env

Green Credit Program (GCP):

The Green Credit Programme (GCP), initiated by the Union Environment Ministry, aims to encourage investment in afforestation on degraded forest lands to generate ‘green credits.’
These credits are intended for organizations and individuals to contribute to environmental restoration rather than merely tree planting.
Under the GCP, 387 parcels of degraded forest land, totalling nearly 10,983 hectares, have been identified across 13 states for restoration.
Interested parties can fund these projects, with actual afforestation conducted by State forest departments.
Two years post-planting, following an evaluation by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), each tree can earn one green credit.
These credits can be utilized by financiers to comply with forest laws that necessitate compensation for forest land used for non-forestry purposes, or they can be applied towards meeting corporate social responsibility objectives or environmental, social, and governance reporting norms.
Although currently non-tradeable, the GCP’s rules, established in October 2023, outline a future where these credits could be tradable on domestic markets and potentially convert into carbon credits if they contribute to significant reductions in carbon emissions.

8 Key Activities Eligible for Green Credits:

Tree Plantation, Water Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture, Waste Management, Air Pollution Reduction, Mangrove Conservation, Ecomark Acquisition, and Sustainable Building and Infrastructure.

Updates in the guidelines:

The Environment Ministry has recently updated its guidelines for the restoration of degraded forest landscapes, giving states the autonomy to determine the necessary tree density, which was previously set at a minimum of 1,100 trees per hectare.
Recognizing that not all degraded areas can support such density, the new guidelines allow for the inclusion of shrubs, herbs, and grasses as suitable restoration elements.
Although the program is in its pilot phase, there are ongoing deliberations on how to quantify non-tree vegetation for green credits and determine the portion of compensatory afforestation obligations that can be offset using green credits. The equivalence between green credits and carbon credits is also under review.

Source: TH