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New Delhi: The Union environment ministry ignored the cautions by the Union law ministry’s legislative department regarding the green credit scheme and still went ahead with its launch, a report by The Indian Express stated on March 31. 

Based on responses availed from the government under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the daily had found that the legislative department under the Ministry of Law and Justice had noted that the Environment (Protection) Act “perhaps” supports the business provisions under the scheme.

What is the green credit scheme?

Launched in 2023, the Green Credit Program (GCP) aims to “incentivize environmental actions”. It plans to do this by issuing green credits to individuals, communities, private sector industries and companies, for undertaking voluntary environmental actions such as afforestation. Once individuals or entities register their environmental activities through the Union government’s website or application, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) – which implements the scheme under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change – will verify the activity through an agency. The ICFRE will then issue a green credit certificate.

Once the green credits are registered under the green credit registry, they can be traded – bought and sold, much like stocks – on a trading platform developed by the ICFRE. According to the Union environment ministry, the green credit program will focus on afforestation and water conservation activities in its initial phase.

However, the scheme has come under fire for several reasons. 

Prime among them is that the scheme could........

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