{"id":61494,"date":"2025-09-01T11:36:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T06:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=61494"},"modified":"2025-09-01T13:04:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T07:34:05","slug":"green-credit-programme-gcp-revised-rules-for-tree-plantation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/green-credit-programme-gcp-revised-rules-for-tree-plantation\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Credit Programme (GCP) &#8211; Revised Rules for Tree Plantation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Green Credit Programme (GCP) Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union Environment Ministry has recently notified a <\/span><b>new methodology<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for awarding green credits under the Green Credit Programme (GCP).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This replaces the earlier methodology, with <\/span><b>significant changes in eligibility, time frame, and use of credits.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Overview of the Green Credit Programme (GCP)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Launched<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: In November <\/span><b>2023<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, at the UN Climate Conference (COP28, Dubai) by the Prime Minister of India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Objective<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: To <\/span><b>promote voluntary environmental protection actions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as tree plantation, water conservation, waste management, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Mechanism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Under GCP, the environment ministry seeks \u2018voluntary actions\u2019 from companies, individuals, or groups for environmental protection activities, and awards credits in return.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Key Changes in Rules<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Awarding of credits:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Earlier system:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The earlier benchmark awarded green credit subject to a minimum density of <\/span><b>1,100 trees per hectare, within two years of plantation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0 It is <\/span><b>criticized <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for not focusing on survival, and quality and density of canopy.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>New methodology:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those who have invested in tree plantation activities will <\/span><b>earn green credits on completion of a minimum of five years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of restoration activities on degraded forest land.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The green credit shall be calculated based on the vegetation status, including the change in the canopy density (after achieving a <\/span><b>minimum canopy density of 40%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) and the number of surviving trees.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Tradability of credits:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Earlier system<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Market-based trading of credits.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>New methodology: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The credit for tree plantation will be <\/span><b>non-tradable and non-transferable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, except in the case of transfer between the holding company and its subsidiary companies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Permissible uses of green credits:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those involved in tree plantation under GCP will still be allowed a <\/span><b>one-time exchange of green credit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for compensatory afforestation obligations,\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To meet corporate social responsibility requirements or\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For other legal tree planting obligations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The credit will cease after exchanging it for compliance with legal obligations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The credit for tree plantation may be used for reporting under <\/span><b>environmental, social, and governance (ESG) leadership indicators.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Rationale Behind Changes<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Focus on quality and survival:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moves away from just counting trees per hectare.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emphasizes <\/span><b>long-term health of plantations <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(minimum 5 years).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Addresses criticism of government afforestation drives that focus on quantity over survival and canopy quality.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Focus on credibility:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So far, <\/span><b>57,986 hectares<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of degraded forest land have been registered under GCP, as per government data.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revised rules expected to <\/span><b>improve credibility and long-term sustainability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The revised Green Credit Programme marks <\/span><b>a shift from tokenistic tree-plantation drives to sustainable ecological restoration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a focus on quality, survival, and canopy growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Going forward, this approach can strengthen India\u2019s climate resilience, improve biodiversity, and enhance corporate accountability in environmental stewardship.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/centre-norms-tree-plantation-green-credits-tree-canopy-10222177\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>IE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Union Environment Ministry has recently notified a new methodology for awarding green credits under the Green Credit Programme (GCP). 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