COP28: What Is Green Credits Scheme And How It Can Help Fight Climate Change?

Addressing the UN climate conference COP28 in Dubai on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a 'Green Credit Initiative' focused on creating carbon sinks through people's participation.

Modi said the Green Credits Initiative is a pro-planet, proactive, and positive initiative that goes beyond the commercial mindset associated with carbon credits.

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What Modi said

"It focuses on creating carbon sinks through people's participation, and I invite all of you to join this initiative," Modi said, stressing that the world does not have much time to correct the mistakes of the last century.

This initiative is similar to the Green Credit Programme, notified in India in October this year.

What is Green Credit Programme?

It is an innovative market-based mechanism designed to reward voluntary environmental actions in different sectors by individuals, communities and the private sector.

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The Green Credit Initiative has been conceptualised as a mechanism to incentivise voluntary pro-planet actions as an effective response to the challenge of climate change. It envisions the issue of Green Credits for plantations on waste/degraded lands and river catchment areas to rejuvenate and revive natural ecosystems.

How Green Credit Programme works

The Green Credit Initiative involves creating an inventory of degraded wastelands, which can be utilised for planting by individuals and organisations. Participants undertaking environmentally positive actions will receive tradable green credits.

The entire process, from registration to plantation, verification, and issuance of green credits, will be digitised.

LiFE and Green Credit Programme

According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Green Credit Initiative was announced to take ahead the 'LiFE' - 'Lifestyle for Environment' movement announced by the Prime Minister in 2021.

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How Green Credit will be awarded

The GCP's governance framework is supported by an inter-ministerial Steering Committee, and The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) serves as the GCP Administrator, responsible for program implementation, management, monitoring, and operation.

In its initial phase, the GCP focuses on two key activities: water conservation and afforestation. Draft methodologies for awarding Green Credits have been developed and will be notified for stakeholder consultation. These methodologies set benchmarks for each activity/process to ensure environmental impact and fungibility across sectors. A user-friendly digital platform will streamline the processes for registration of projects, verification, and issuance of Green Credits.

Green Credit Programme | Shutterstock

Who can get Green Credits?

The Green Credit Registry and trading platform, being developed by ICFRE along with experts, would facilitate the registration and thereafter, the 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. The 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.

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