From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Green Credit Programme;
Mains level: Sustainable Growth; GCP stoked controversy;
Why in the news?
On April 12, the Environment Ministry issued further guidelines on its Green Credit Programme (GCP)
What is the Green Credit Programme?
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Features of the Green Credit Programme:
- Open-Platform: Participants, including individuals, organizations, and both public and private companies, can invest in these environmental initiatives and receive ‘green credits’ in return. These credits are earned based on the environmental impact of the invested activities.
- Public sector companies such as Indian Oil, Power Grid Corporation of India, National Thermal Power Corporation, Oil India, Coal India, and National Hydropower Corporation have reportedly registered to invest in the GCP.
- Set with Priority: The Ministry has prescribed rules for the first initiative under the GCP, focusing on afforestation. Participants can pay for afforestation projects in degraded forest and wasteland areas, with tree planting conducted by State forest departments.
- The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), an autonomous body of the Environment Ministry, is responsible for administering the GCP. They define methodologies to calculate green credits and manage a trading platform for credit exchange.
- Regional Participation: Thirteen state forest departments have offered 387 land parcels totaling nearly 10,983 hectares of degraded forest land for afforestation projects under the GCP.
- Enhanced Decision-Making: Successful participants will receive estimates of the costs involved in their chosen afforestation projects, facilitating informed decision-making and planning.
Why has the GCP stoked controversy?
- Commodification of Environmental Conservation: Critics argue that the GCP turns environmental conservation into a commodity, potentially undermining the spirit of India’s forest conservation laws.
- Forest Diversion Concerns: The GCP’s provision for companies to “exchange” green credits for complying with compensatory afforestation requirements raises concerns that it could be exploited by industries seeking to ease forest diversion requirements, particularly in sectors like mining and infrastructure.
- Ecological Impact: Planting trees as a part of afforestation efforts does not guarantee ecosystem improvement. India’s diverse forest types require specific approaches, and planting the wrong types of trees could lead to the proliferation of invasive species or disrupt sustainable ecosystems.
- Monoculture Threat: There’s a risk that the GCP may promote the replacement of natural forests with invasive monocultures, potentially harming biodiversity and ecological balance.
- Carbon Trading Controversy: The GCP allows green credits resulting from carbon storage (e.g., tree planting) to be used for carbon trading. However, the methodology for equating these activities is unclear, raising doubts about the effectiveness and legitimacy of such carbon trading schemes.
Conclusion: The Green Credit Programme in India, faces criticism for potentially commodifying conservation, raising forest diversion concerns, posing ecological risks like monoculture, and lacking clarity in carbon trading methodologies. So there is a need for rigorous oversight and adaptation.
Mains PYQ
Q Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When was this idea first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA)?
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