The Green Credit Programme (GCP) is an innovative initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change aimed at incentivising environmentally positive actions. It also supports the vision of Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) by encouraging behavioural changes toward sustainable living.
About Green Credit Program (GCP)
- Objective:
- To increase green cover, enhance carbon sequestration, restore degraded lands and reduce carbon footprint through the adoption of environment-friendly technologies and practices.
- To incentivise environmental positive actions across diverse sectors by various stakeholders like communities through market-based mechanism and generate Green Credit (GC).
- GC is tradable and made available for trading on a domestic market platform.
- Launch Year: 2023
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change
- It introduces a market-based approach to incentivise 8 identified environmental activities.
- Sustainable agriculture
- Waste management
- Air pollution reduction
- Mangrove conservation and restoration
- Eco mark label development
- Sustainable building and infrastructure
- Water conservation
- Afforestation
- NOTE: Government has notified Green Credit Rules, 2023 on 12th October 2023 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to encourage voluntary environmental positive actions resulting in issuance of Green Credits.
- Green Credit Portal: It is a dedicated portal has been developed for registration, monitoring and credit issuance
- Implementing Agency: Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun will serve as GCP Administrator.
- It will be responsible for program implementation, management, monitoring, and operation.
- It will develop Green Credit Registry and trading platform to facilitate the registration and buying and selling of Green Credits.
- To obtain Green Credits, individuals and entities must register their activities through the central government’s dedicated app/website
- Administrator will verify the activity through a designated agency, with self-verification for small projects.
- Once verification is complete, the Administrator will grant a Green Credit certificate which will be tradable on the green credit platform.
GCP for restoration of degraded lands
Selection of Land Parcels
- Degraded forest lands are identified and registered by State Forest Departments
- Verified through: Divisional Nodal Officer (DNO) and State Nodal Officer (SNO)
Safeguard
- Ensures land is not already under afforestation or other schemes
- Prevents double counting of environmental benefits
Afforestation Guidelines
- Plantation must use indigenous species suitable to the local ecosystem
- Focus on ecological restoration rather than monoculture plantations
Eligibility for Green Credits
Applicants can claim Green Credits only after:
- Minimum 5 years of restoration work
- Achieving at least 40% canopy density
Verification and Certification
- A designated agency verifies restoration work
- Submits report to the Administrator (ICFRE)
- Green credits are issued only after successful verification
Linkage with Compensatory Afforestation
- Forest lands restored under GCP can be used for compensatory afforestation requirements under Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980
- This enhances the programme’s policy relevance and usability.
Role of Public and Private Sector
The programme promotes active participation of both public and private entities in:
- Forest restoration
- Environmental sustainability
- Climate action.