India Releases Draft Rules for Green Credit Programme

The draft of the “Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules, 2023” was made public by India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on June 26, 2023. The Green Credit Programme (GCP) and its market mechanism are intended to be established and implemented in the nation through the draft. According to the GCP, organisations and people that engage in environmentally friendly activities can produce green credits that can be exchanged on a domestic market platform.

A public comment period for 60 days is available until August 25, 2023.

A range of eight sectors identified as activities to generate green credits have been identified as below, of which two or three will be prioritized and implemented in phases.

● Tree Plantation: To promote activities for increasing the green cover across the country through tree plantation and related activities.
● Water: To promote water conservation, water harvesting and water use efficiency/savings, including treatment and reuse of wastewater.
● Sustainable Agriculture: To promote natural and regenerative agricultural practices and land restoration to improve productivity, soil health and nutritional value of food produced.
● Waste Management: To promote sustainable and improved practices for waste management, including collection, segregation, and treatment.
● Air Pollution Reduction: To promote measures for reducing air pollution and other pollution abatement activities.
● Mangrove Conservation and Restoration: To promote measures for conservation and restoration of mangroves.
● Eco mark: To encourage manufacturers to obtain Eco mark label for their goods and services.
● Sustainable building and infrastructure: To encourage the construction of buildings and other infrastructure using sustainable technologies and materials.

What next…?

In addition to the previously mentioned activities, more sectors may be included. However, based on each
activity level of complexity, scale, scope, etc., the standards threshold will be established.
The draft also appoints the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) as the Administrator
of this program. Its functions are shown as below:
● Implementation, management, and enforcement of GCP and determination of their costs
● Establishment of green credits generation methodologies and processes from each activity
● Determination of green credits prices
● Develop guidelines for Green Credit Registry and trading platform.