Green Credit Programme (GCP)

Green Credit Programme tweaked

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Context

Centre tweaks the Green Credit Programme norms to focus on the restoration of ecosystem.

Green Credit Programme (GCP)

Established on October 13, 2023, it incentivizes voluntary environmental actions across sectors by individuals, communities, and private sector industries.
Governed by an inter-ministerial Steering Committee, with the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) as the Administrator.
Initial focus on water conservation and afforestation, with draft methodologies for awarding Green Credits, developed for stakeholder consultation.
A digital platform streamlines project registration, verification, and issuance of Green Credits, with a registry and trading platform to facilitate credit trading.
Green Credit Programme (GCP) encourages investment in afforestation on degraded forest lands for green credits.

Amendments made:

Individuals and companies can apply through the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to "restore" forests.
Afforestation will be carried out by State forest departments.
After two years, each planted tree could be worth one green credit, evaluated by ICFRE.
Green credits can be used for compliance with forest laws or for environmental, social, and governance reporting and CSR.

Reason for tweaking the norms:

Concerns exist that GCP may lead to tree planting solely for financial gains.
Union Environment Ministry emphasizes prioritizing ecosystem restoration over mere tree planting.
13 States' forest departments have offered 387 land parcels (10,983 hectares) for restoration.

Source:

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/wildlife-biodiversity/whales-and-dolphins-now-have-legal-personhood-in-the-pacific-but-one-treaty-won-t-be-enough-to-protect-them-95588

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q) Which of the following statements accurately describes the Green Credit Programme (GCP) and its recent amendments?

1. The GCP was established to incentivize voluntary environmental actions across sectors by individuals, communities, and private sector industries.

2. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) serves as the Administrator of the GCP, overseeing project registration, verification, and issuance of Green Credits.

3. The GCP focuses primarily on promoting water conservation initiatives and afforestation efforts.

4. Recent amendments allow individuals and companies to apply for afforestation projects directly through the ICFRE.

5. Afforestation activities under the GCP will be carried out solely by private organizations to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

6. Each planted tree under the GCP will be evaluated after two years and may be worth one green credit, as determined by the ICFRE.

Select the correct options:

a) 1, 2, 3, and 6

b) 1, 2, 4, and 5

c) 1, 3, 4, and 6

d) 2, 3, 5, and 6

Correct answer: a) 1, 2, 3, and 6