Government Issues Draft Rules of Green Credit Programme

The Green Credits Programme, proposed to be launched at the national level, is designed to incentivise voluntary environmental actions undertaken by individuals, cooperatives, forestry enterprises and other entities.

June 29, 2023. By Anurima Mondal

The Government of India has issued draft Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules, 2023 to create a market based mechanism for providing incentives in the form of Green Credits.

As per the notification by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Green Credits Programme, proposed to be launched at the national level, is designed to incentivise voluntary environmental actions undertaken by individuals, small scale industries, cooperatives, private sectors, forestry enterprises, farmer-produce organisations for their environmental actions.

Talking about the government’s market-based approach to adopt environmental and social sustainability, Manish Dabkara, Chairman and MD EKI Energy Services Ltd. said, “India has truly strengthened its global leadership towards environmental sustainability through a pioneering and unique regulatory step to introduce the Green Credit Programme, which is far beyond just carbon but encompasses all major attributes of environment and social sustainability. One of the major highlights of the draft notification is to provide regulatory provisions to account for individual and community actions, besides corporate and businesses, and incentivize them.”

“Green Credit is over and above the current discourse of carbon credits, which will be one of the co-benefits of the Green Credit Programme. It provisions to provide incentives for sustainable agriculture, forestry, water conservation, air pollution reduction, waste management, sustainable building and infrastructure and eco-labelling activities. The present draft has just indicated the regulatory structure for operationalising the Green Credit Programme. The Indian Council of Forests Research and Education (ICFRE) will be the Administrator of the programme and will be responsible to develop the operational modalities and methodologies and institutional structures and formalities. Being an active stakeholder in the Carbon Market, EKI wholeheartedly appreciates Government Of India’s efforts and is excited to participate in the development of and support country’s embarkment towards the New Sustainable Development Paradigm," he added.

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Policies & Regulations

Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules, 2023

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Green Credit Program

Indian Council of Forests Research and Education

Manish Dabkara