Govt notifies draft rules for India’s ‘Green Credit’ scheme (GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recently notified the draft ‘Green Credit Programme (GCP)’ implementation rules 2023.
Details:
- Under this, individuals, industries, farmers producers organisations (FPOs), urban local bodies (ULB), gram panchayats and private sectors, among a host of other entities, will be able to earn “green credit” for undertaking environment-friendly actions. These include planting trees, conserving water, waste management and reducing air pollution.
- The programme aims to create a market-based mechanism for these entities to earn incentives in the form of green credits. The idea is to “incentivise voluntary environmental actions”.
- The green credits will be tradable and those earning it will be able to put these credits up for sale on a proposed domestic market platform.
How this will work?
- The environment ministry has identified eight select activities under The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for which green credit can be earned —
- tree plantation,
- water conservation,
- water harvesting and water use efficiency/savings,
- promoting natural and regenerative agricultural practice,
- waste management,
- air pollution reduction,
- mangrove conservation and restoration,
- ecomark based green credit and construction of buildings and other infrastructure using sustainable technology and material.
Environmental compensation:
- The entities will also be made to pay environmental compensation for violation of the provisions contained in the notification.
- The environmental compensation will be collected by a GCP administrator and be deposited in a separate dedicated account. This fund will then be utilised for taking measures for market stabilisation along with other activities related to the implementation of GCP as approved by the steering committee.
Benchmark:
- The green credits can be bought by environment conscious companies or industries wanting to avail loan at a cheaper rate of interest for undertaking environment friendly interventions.
- Thresholds and benchmarks will be developed for each green credit activity or process for generating and issuance of green credit.
- The government will also develop and establish digital processes for the GCP, including self-assessment of eligible green credit activities, registration of projects, issuance of green credits and monitoring performance.
Who will govern GCP’s implementation?
- A steering committee headed by the environment secretary and comprising officials from concerned ministries/departments, domain experts and industry associations will govern the implementation of GCP.
- The committee will not only approve procedures for institutionalising the GCP but also approve its rules and regulations and make recommendations to the central government for issuance of Green Credit Certificate. It will determine the type and amount of fees and charges for the purpose of meeting the cost and expense towards implementation of GCP
- The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) will be the administrator of GCP and will manage, monitor and operate the entire programme. It will register the green credits and maintain records of all transactions and ensure that trade happens with requisite discipline.
- The ICFRE will constitute technical or sectoral committees for each different activity to facilitate in developing methodologies and standards and processes for registration of GC projects and grant of GCs.
- The technical committee will also decide the value of green credit to be awarded. ICFRE will issue guidelines for the establishment of the trading platform for the exchange of green credit certificates with the approval of the steering committee.
- The trading platform for the exchange of Green Credit Certificates shall be established by the Trading Service Provider accredited by the GCP administrator. The ICFRE will also specify the procedure including eligibility criteria for accreditation of entities to act as accredited green credits verifiers with the approval of the steering committee.
Way Forward:
- The draft notification will be out on public domain for 60 days for inviting objection and suggestion after which the rules will be notified.
India releases list of 30 critical minerals crucial for ‘economic development, national security’
(GS Paper 3, Internal Security)
Why in news?
- Ministry of Mines, recently released the ‘Report of the Committee on Identification of Critical Minerals’.
- India has identified 30 critical minerals that it considers essential for economic development and national security of the country in order to ensure “self-reliance” and to address “the vulnerability” in its supply chain.
- It includes critical minerals, including antimony, beryllium, bismuth, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, indium, lithium, molybdenum, niobium, nickel, phosphorous, potash, titanium, tungsten and rare earth elements.
Why it matters?
- With a few exceptions such as copper, gallium (discovered as a by-product while producing alumina), graphite, cadmium (discovered as a byproduct during zinc smelting and refining), phosphorus, potash, and titanium, India is 100 percent import dependent for most of these minerals.
- Even today, only about 10-20 percent of India’s real potential vis-a-vis critical minerals has been explored.
- The latest development is crucial because of the importance of these minerals; from mobile phones to electric vehicles, solar panels, semiconductors and wind turbines, all modern technologies are dependent on critical minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, thalium and rare earth elements. Such minerals are essential not only in high-tech electronics and telecommunications, but also in transport and defence.
Background:
- In November 2022, the Ministry of Mines had set up a seven-member committee under Veena Kumari Dermal, joint secretary in the mines ministry, to identify a list of such critical minerals.
Way Forward:
- The list will serve as a guiding framework for policy formulation, strategic planning and investment decisions in the mining sector.
- This initiative aligns with the larger vision of achieving ‘Net Zero’ target for India through Government's commitment for creating a robust and resilient mineral sector.
