GREEN CREDIT SCHEME - ECONOMY
News: Centre
moots ‘market’ scheme to promote sustainable living
What's in the news?
● The
Environment Ministry has issued a draft notification detailing a proposed
‘Green Credit Scheme’ that will incentivize a host of activities to promote
sustainable living.
Key takeaways:
● The
Green Credit Scheme, the notification says, followed from the principle of LiFE, often articulated by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to “encourage sustainable lifestyles by driving
consumer/community towards behavioural changes to incentivize
environment-friendly practices.”
● New
scheme will incentivize a host of activities such as afforestation, water
conservation, waste management and air pollution mitigation by generating
‘Green Credits’ that can be traded for money.
Green Credit Scheme:
Features:
● A
Green Credit Programme is proposed to be launched at national level to leverage
a competitive market-based approach for
Green Credits thereby incentivizing
voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders.
● Green
Credit Programme will encourage private
sector industries and companies as well as other entities to meet their
existing obligations, stemming from other legal frameworks, by taking actions
which are able to converge with activities relevant for generating or buying
Green Credits.
Nodal Ministry - Ministry of Environment
Implementation:
● A
‘steering committee,’ of government
and private sector representatives will specify the details of implementing the
programme.
● Overall
administration of the scheme will be under the Indian Council for Forestry
Research and Education.
Eight Sectors:
- Tree
plantation-based Green Credit - to promote
activities for increasing green cover across the country through tree
plantation and related activities.
- Water-based
Green Credit - to promote water
conservation, water harvesting and water use efficiency/savings, including
treatment and reuse of wastewater.
- Sustainable
agriculture-based Green Credit
- to promote natural and regenerative agricultural practices and land
restoration to improve productivity, soil health and nutritional value of
food produced.
- Waste
management-based Green Credit - to promote
sustainable and improved practices for waste management, including
collection, segregation and treatment.
- Air pollution
reduction-based Green Credit - to promote
measures for reducing air pollution and other pollution-abatement
activities.
- Mangrove
conservation and restoration-based Green Credit
- to promote measures for conservation and restoration of mangroves.
- Ecomark-based
Green Credit - to encourage
manufacturers to obtain ecomark label for their goods and services.
- Sustainable
building and infrastructure-based Green Credit
- to encourage the construction of buildings and other infrastructure
using sustainable technologies and materials.
Who are allowed to trade?
● Individuals and organizations
are allowed to generate ‘Green Credits.’ These credits can also be traded for
money.
Difference from Carbon Markets:
● Unlike
carbon markets, where only greenhouse gas emissions were traded, the Green
Credit Scheme was “trickier” as it involved accounting for a wide range of actions.