Government introduces tradable Green Credit to reward eco-friendly behavior

 Government introduces tradable Green Credit to reward eco-friendly behavior

The project seeks to motivate businesses, organizations, and other entities to fulfill their environmental commitments.

The government has established a unique mechanism through which a person or organization may acquire green credits and trade them on a specific exchange. A unit of reward offered for a specific action that has a beneficial environmental effect is referred to as a "green credit." 

The Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Ministry said in a notice that "a Green Credit programme is being launched during the national level to leverage an advantageous market-based approach for green credit towards incentivizing environmental actions across different stakeholders." The previously 'LiFE'-(Lifestyle for Environment) campaign's follow-up initiative is this one. The notice also said that participation in the new initiative is entirely optional. 

This program will include 8 different kinds of activities. The planting of trees is intended to encourage actions that will increase the amount of greenery around the nation. Water management aims to encourage water harvesting, efficient water usage, and water savings, as well as the treatment and reuse of wastewater. In order to increase productivity, soil health, and food quality, sustainable agriculture aims to encourage organic, regenerative farming methods and land restoration. Waste management aims to advance better, sustainable, and circular waste management techniques, such as collection, segregation, and environmentally friendly handling. The goal of air pollution reduction is to encourage actions that lessen air pollution and other forms of pollution. Additionally, mangrove conservation and restoration aims to support initiatives for their preservation and restoration. 

To get green credit, one must electronically record the action with the Administrator via a website.After a designated agency has verified the activity, the Administrator will issue the applicant a certificate of green credit based on the agency's findings. "The calculation of green credit in consideration for any activity undertaken shall be based on equivalence with respect to resource requirement, parity the scale, scope, size, and other relevant parameters essential to achieve the desired environmental outcome," the notice said.

Additionally, a Green Credit Registry will be provided. A trading platform will be created and kept up by the Administrator. 

The announcement emphasized that the green credit program would create green credit, which will be transferable and made accessible for trade on a domestic market platform, and will incentivize ecologically friendly acts via a market-based mechanism.

The program intends to motivate businesses, organizations, and other entities to fulfill their current and future legal duties as well as to motivate other people and entities to take voluntary environmental action by creating or purchasing green credit. However, the green credit earned or acquired to satisfy any duty, in line with any current legislation, shall not be exchangeable. 

It was made clear by the announcement that the Green Credit Program is separate from the carbon credits offered by the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, 2023, which was created in accordance with the Energy Conservation Act of 2001. "An environmental activity providing green credit may have climate co-benefits, including reduction or removal of carbon emissions, hence an activity generating green credit outside the Environmental Credit Programme can additionally obtain carbon credit from the exact same endeavor under the said Scheme," it stated.