India proposes Green Credit Programme

If you or your organization is into a tree or mangrove plantation, water conservation, air pollution reduction, waste management, or sustainable agriculture, you might be eligible for Green Credits.

Green Credit Programme

Indian Government has proposed a unique initiative, Green Credit Programme, to encourage sustainable lifestyles by pushing individuals and communities towards behavioral changes to incentivize environment-friendly practices.

The program was mentioned by Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, when she presented the government budget for 2023-24 in February 2023. 

Green Credit Programme will promote private sector industries, companies, and other entities to meet their obligations from other legal frameworks by taking actions that can converge with activities relevant to generating or buying Green Credits.

In 2021, at CoP 26 Climate Summit, India’s Prime Minister, apart from announcing the country’s ambitious target to achieve net zero by 2070, also gave a clarion call of mission ‘LiFE.’ The LiFE mission, or ‘Lifestyle for Environment,’ pushes for a public movement to combat climate change and encourages environmental actions.

Since then, the Government has taken several steps to promote the ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ mission. The Green Credit Programme is also one of the steps in this direction to push individuals and communities toward climate action. 

As per the notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the green credits will arise from a range of sectors and entities, ranging from small-scale ones– such as individuals, Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises, and sustainable agriculture enterprises; to those being developed at the level of Urban and Rural Local Bodies, private sectors, industries, and organizations.

Green Credits will be tradable outcomes and will act as incentives. Initially, Green Credits will be made available to individuals and entities engaged in selected activities and undertaking environmental interventions. These Green Credits will be available for trading on a domestic market platform. An activity generating Green Credits under Green Credit Programme may also get Carbon Credits from the same activity under the carbon market.

To implement this program, a phased approach will be adopted. In the initial phase, two to three activities from the sectors listed below will be considered for designing and piloting the Programme. More activities will be added from the selected sectors in subsequent phases. 

1. Tree Plantation-based Green Credit: To promote activities for increasing the green cover across the country through tree plantation and related activities.
2. Water-based Green Credit: To promote water conservation, water harvesting, and water use efficiency/savings, including treatment and reuse of wastewater.
3. 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.
4. Waste Management-based Green Credit: To promote sustainable and improved practices for waste management, including collection, segregation, and treatment.
5. Air Pollution Reduction based Green Credit: To promote measures for reducing air pollution and other pollution abatement activities.
6. Mangrove Conservation and Restoration based Green Credit: To promote measures for the conservation and restoration of mangroves.
7. Ecomark-based Green Credit: To encourage manufacturers to obtain Ecomark labels for their goods and services.
8. Sustainable building and infrastructure-based Green Credit: To encourage the construction of buildings and other infrastructure using sustainable technologies and materials