A New Era of Eco-Consciousness with India’s Green Credit Programme

Introduction

The UN Environment Program as mentioned in the 2030 agenda and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to scale up its innovation with transformational action with the private sector. Observer Research Foundation’s publication “To battle pollution, involve the private sector” mentions the role and potential of the private sector to harness and leverage its capabilities to derive innovative solutions to tackle environmental concerns. The effects of this can be multi-fold in working towards sustainability which may not only provide long term technological solutions but also monitoring methods. One case in point of the same narrative mentioned in the publication is the partnership of Mahindra Group with Indraprastha Gas Limited to provide electricity to the villages by originating bio fuel from crop stubbles. Thus, in this scenario the engagement of the private sector in a way would be efficient in impacting livelihoods, mobility to environmental sustainability.

While we look at the other end of this coin, a panel of six professionals in a live event of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management largely mentioned the importance of the public and private sector both in driving climate action. It brought forth both sides of the coin wherein the role of public was essential to frame legislations and policies and the support of the private sector was needed so as to drive change through innovation and practice. To further move on with the same narrative even at present the prominence of public and private, both is accorded for climate action. Public sector is regarded for framing legislation and policies and the private sector comes out as a major stakeholder in achieving sustainable development goals and driving impact. Private sector in a way is to be the prominent enabler for the public sector to execute its goal of environmental action. It also comes down to the aspect of accountability as the industrial and manufacturing sectors are one of the major reasons for environmental degradation. 

Hence, at present the conversations and actions at the global and national level require partnerships of a multitude of stakeholders. Now we will proceed with the introduction of the LiFE movement which gave a pathway to the Green Credit Programme by the Government of India to bring in all the stakeholders on the same loop, that is to say the private and individual realm to supplement the public sector for environmental action.

COP 28 - LiFE Movement and Commencement of GCP

There are a series of mechanisms and multilateral efforts undertaken at the international level to work towards the mitigation of climate change and to negotiate solutions for states, governments and citizens. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change “(UNFCCC)” is one such platform. In 1992, 154 nations signed under the UNFCCC to reduce average global temperature increases and to combat climate change. With this, the framework of COP (Conference of Parties) took shape which is till date convened under UNFCCC. The first COP was held in Berlin, Germany. The COP as a platform led to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 which was legally binding upon the signatories to emission reduction. At present, there are 192 parties to the protocol. Further, COP 21 led to the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 in Paris, France. Its main objective is to accelerate climate action by ensuring that the increase in global temperature in this century rises well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and thereby to even take effort to restrict the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The latest (28th meeting) of the COP was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Nov-Dec, 2023). COP 28 signaled the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era and marked the aim of keeping global temperature to 1.5 degree celsius above the pre industrial era. Over the same platform , India announced the launch of the Green Credit Program (GCP). This goes back to the backdrop of Lifestyle for the Environment Movement (LiFE movement). This movement was announced by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in November, 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow. The vision behind it was to establish a mass movement that would derive change at the individual/community and institutional level. It called for “mindful and deliberate utilization instead of mindless and destructive consumption”. It accords to set in accountability for individual and community action to tune in an eco friendly life on Earth and make people Pro Planet thereby putting an onus on them.

Thus, Green Credit and Echomark scheme are two initiatives by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in this regard. The Green Credit programme as launched in COP 28 has a vision to enhance environmental and conservation practices by rewarding individuals who make positive contributions in the environment. 

Features of the Green Credit Programme 

1. Green credit is a market based mechanism which is based on rewarding/incentivising environmental actions directed by individuals, communities, private sector, industries and so forth in diverse realms. 
2. It aims to drive behavioural change amongst consumers and customers to promote environmentally friendly action that will help the LiFE movement.
3. The draft methodologies mentions Green Credit to be independent of the Carbon Credits under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme which was made under Energy Conservation Act, 2001. The idea behind carbon credits largely lies in the reduction of greenhouse gasses. The draft mentions that an activity generating green credits can have co benefits and lead to carbon reduction, in that case it shall be given carbon credits as well. 
4. The framework is supported by the inter-ministerial Steering Committee and The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.
5. The implementation, management, monitoring and operation of the program is to be handled by The Indian Council of Forestry Research (ICFRE), Dehradun which has also been accorded the responsibility as the administrator of GCP 2023. 
6. There shall be a constitution of Technical Committee on the recommendation of the administrator to assist the administrator in the implementation of the Green Credit Program. The committee shall consist of members of Ministries and Departments, organisations and experts having knowledge and experience related to the field in the activity.
7. The technical committee shall accord green credit by setting up methodology on the basis of scale, scope and size of the activity and other relevant parameters to achieve the desired outcome. 
8. The administrator or the designated agency shall also maintain a Green Credit Registry to account for maintenance of accurate and secure databases and registration of activities.The Green Credit Registry and the subsequent trading platform by the ICFRE would manage the process of registration and issuing of credit. This shall help in smooth functioning in order to register, verify and issue green credits and to develop methodologies and standards for issuing the same. 
9. At present GCP has its focus on “Water Conservation” and “Afforestation” as the two key activities. Other activities in GCP will consist of Waste Management, Air Pollution Reduction, Mangrove Conservation and Restoration, Eco Mark activities, Sustainable Building and Infrastructure and Sustainable Agriculture.
10. This provides a platform for a diverse range of sectors starting from Farmers Producers organisations to cooperatives, urban and rural local bodies and private entities to confer the green credits. Moreover, activities within the Green Credit will supplement environmental action along with the previously existing Carbon Credits.
11. The Draft Rules were released on June 26, 2023 and were kept open for suggestions from the public till August, 2023. The full document is available here for reference - https://egazette.gov.in/WriteReadData/2023/249377.pdf .

Implementation of Green Credit Programme (GCP) 

1. Need for Rigorous planning - While the Green Credit Programme, serves as a platform for the rejuvenation of environmental actions by the community, individuals and organisations. It thus views impact through a community level approach and individualistic orientation, the large scale implementation of the same will demand rigorous planning. If the program, sets to engage local communities and farmers per se, the incentive has to be viable enough to bring support and influence positive actions. Thus, the formulation of price becomes critical and highly prominent. 

1. Permanence of carbon credits - As the Green Credit Programme is at a nascent stage, there are large scale industries that have developed interest in carbon credits which brings in the risk of “permanence of carbon credits”. This can lead to cutting off trees and/or burning trees after receiving credits. That is to say that the large industries can also indulge into improper plantation for the continuity of carbon credits which shall thereby collide with the implementation of Green Credit Programme. Further, this may also account for circumstances of attack by pests, insects and/or effects of infertile soil/land can turn disastrous. The success of the Green Credit Programme depends on multiple factors which require conscious understanding by all the stakeholders which accords benefits to local communities as well.

1. Fungibility of Green Credits - The Draft Rules have mentioned benchmarks for generating green credits and taken in account to ensure “fungibility” (interchangeable across sectors) on the basis of outcomes through parameters of scope and size and further decided factors. But this does not entirely omit the challenge of measuring and monitoring diverse impact and outcomes, a large part of it depends on the approach of implementation.

1. Greenwashing and other concerns - The other concern comes down to the involvement of the private sectors which might lead to state’s regulation being compromised. This may thus lead to buying and selling of green credits by other players. And hence, the challenge of greenwashing can take place. Greenwashing are the false claims taken by entities for environmental impact which do not align with the actions. 

Conclusion

The Green Credit Program is key to achieving sustainable development and bringing change on ground through individual actions. The intent of the program is undoubtedly positive and is diverse in a way to include a varied number of goals and diverse environmental actions including soil health and water conservation which becomes a differentiating factor in comparison to carbon credits. As mentioned previously, the scope of carbon credit relies on the reduction of greenhouse gasses but green credit is a market based approach to incentivise individual and community based actions by cross cutting through various sectors. 

For the smooth implementation of the program; it is essential to ensure robust methodologies and formulate strategies so as to maintain the demand and viability of the program. As already mentioned, the need for careful assessment is crucial, especially in the aspect of afforestation along with understanding the ecological and biodiversity related challenges. It is a forward looking program which establishes a stage to bring in all the stakeholders in loop for impact and gives the onus of change to each individual. However, the same shall come with its own challenges and that can be countered through conscious implementation with checks and balances. Constant public deliberations and debates around the functioning and implementation of the scheme can give it more ownership through a participatory approach through aware citizens and more inclusive outcomes in times to come.