Express News Service
KOCHI: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) recently notified a draft Green Credit Programme rules to usher in a competitive market-based approach that will incentivise voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders.
The green credits will arise from a range of sectors and entities, including individuals, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises, sustainable agriculture enterprises, private sector and industries. Green credits will be tradable on a domestic market platform and act as incentives, said the draft notification. The ministry invited objections and suggestions to the rules within 60 days.
The green credit will be implemented in eight sectors, viz tree plantation, water conservation, sustainable agricultural practices, waste management, air pollution reduction, mangrove conservation, Ecomark for goods and services and construction work for using sustainable technologies and materials. The green credit scheme was part of the policy pronouncements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the general budget this year.
“The green credit is part of the sustainable development goals adopted under the UN Charter for environment sustainability. It is similar to the carbon credit concept. For example, the burning of stubble in Punjab smothers Delhi every year. Giving green credits will encourage farmers to adopt environment friendly methods to discard stubble. The Indian Agriculture Research Institute has developed a bio-enzyme that can decompose and turn stubble into manure in 25 days,” said National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) former senior scientist K K Ramachandran.
“Such initiatives will help farmers earn green credits, which are tradable. An industry that is unable to reduce pollution can purchase these green credits to meet the pollution standard set by the government,” he added. According to experts, the green credit programme is an innovative approach and the right step towards achieving environment sustainability.
However, considering the high level of pollution and the reluctance to change traditional practices, how well the Indian industry would respond to it is uncertain. India is home to 63 of the 100 most polluted cities, and New Delhi has the worst air quality among capital cities in the world. Vehicular emissions, industrial waste, smoke from cooking, construction work, stubble burning, and power generation are the biggest sources of air pollution in India.
Around 70% of surface water in the country is estimated to be unfit for consumption. Illegal dumping of raw sewage, silt, and garbage into rivers and lakes severely contaminate India’s waters. The country produces around 277 million tonnes of municipal solid waste every year.
Accumulation, trading on market
Green credit can be accumulated by individuals, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises, sustainable agriculture enterprises, private sector and industries
It can be traded on a domestic market platform
Industries unable to meet the pollution standard can purchase the green credit
60-day window to send suggestions
Activity-generating green credits has climate co-benefits such as the reduction or removal of carbon emissions. The green credit programme can also parallelly be used to get carbon credits for the same activity from the carbon market.
Stakeholders can send in their suggestions/objections to the govt within 60 days. They will be processed and the rules updated for final implementation.
KOCHI: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) recently notified a draft Green Credit Programme rules to usher in a competitive market-based approach that will incentivise voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders.
The green credits will arise from a range of sectors and entities, including individuals, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises, sustainable agriculture enterprises, private sector and industries. Green credits will be tradable on a domestic market platform and act as incentives, said the draft notification. The ministry invited objections and suggestions to the rules within 60 days.
The green credit will be implemented in eight sectors, viz tree plantation, water conservation, sustainable agricultural practices, waste management, air pollution reduction, mangrove conservation, Ecomark for goods and services and construction work for using sustainable technologies and materials. The green credit scheme was part of the policy pronouncements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the general budget this year.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
“The green credit is part of the sustainable development goals adopted under the UN Charter for environment sustainability. It is similar to the carbon credit concept. For example, the burning of stubble in Punjab smothers Delhi every year. Giving green credits will encourage farmers to adopt environment friendly methods to discard stubble. The Indian Agriculture Research Institute has developed a bio-enzyme that can decompose and turn stubble into manure in 25 days,” said National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) former senior scientist K K Ramachandran.
“Such initiatives will help farmers earn green credits, which are tradable. An industry that is unable to reduce pollution can purchase these green credits to meet the pollution standard set by the government,” he added. According to experts, the green credit programme is an innovative approach and the right step towards achieving environment sustainability.
However, considering the high level of pollution and the reluctance to change traditional practices, how well the Indian industry would respond to it is uncertain. India is home to 63 of the 100 most polluted cities, and New Delhi has the worst air quality among capital cities in the world. Vehicular emissions, industrial waste, smoke from cooking, construction work, stubble burning, and power generation are the biggest sources of air pollution in India.
Around 70% of surface water in the country is estimated to be unfit for consumption. Illegal dumping of raw sewage, silt, and garbage into rivers and lakes severely contaminate India’s waters. The country produces around 277 million tonnes of municipal solid waste every year.
Accumulation, trading on market
Green credit can be accumulated by individuals, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises, sustainable agriculture enterprises, private sector and industries
It can be traded on a domestic market platform
Industries unable to meet the pollution standard can purchase the green credit
60-day window to send suggestions
Activity-generating green credits has climate co-benefits such as the reduction or removal of carbon emissions. The green credit programme can also parallelly be used to get carbon credits for the same activity from the carbon market.
Stakeholders can send in their suggestions/objections to the govt within 60 days. They will be processed and the rules updated for final implementation.
