GREEN CREDIT PROGRAMME (GCP) (Syllabus GS Paper 3 – Env & Eco)

Context: The Centre has approved 12 greening projects under the Green Credit Program (GCP), which was notified last year as a market-based mechanism designed to incentivize voluntary environmental actions across diverse sectors.

Green Credit: It  represents an individual unit of incentive awarded for a designated environmentally beneficial activity. This form of credit is attainable by various entities, including individuals, farmer-producer organizations (FPOs), industries, as well as rural and urban local bodies, among other stakeholders.

Green Credit Programme (GCP)

• Launched: During the 2023-24 budget as part of Mission LiFE.
• About: An innovative market-based mechanism designed to incentivize voluntary environmental actions across diverse sectors, by various stakeholders like individuals, communities, private sector industries, and companies.
• Aim: To incentivise environmentally conscious practices and promote a sustainable lifestyle through a market-based mechanism. 
• Implementation by: The Ministry of Environment has released the draft 'Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules 2023' under the purview of the Environment Protection Act of 1986.
• Traded on a domestic market platform: Green credits generated through such actions can be traded on a domestic market platform.
• Governance framework: 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.
• Earn carbon credits as well: Any activity generating green credits under the government's Green Credit Programme (GCP) will also receive carbon credits under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme if it leads to the reduction or removal of carbon emissions.
• 8 Sectors: Environment-friendly actions include tree plantation, water management, sustainable agriculture, waste management, air pollution reduction, mangrove conservation and restoration, Eco mark label development, and sustainable building and infrastructure.