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Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched the Green Credit Programme as India’s bold solution to global climate change at the 2023 United Nations climate conference. Yet, as Tapasya’s investigation for The Reporters’ Collective reveals, this grandiose vision is mired in flaws and contradictions, failing to take root even domestically.

Typically, a faltering government initiative would spark dismay. However, this programme’s stagnation may inadvertently protect India’s environment. The Green Credit Programme allows corporations to bypass their environmental obligations by purchasing credits earned by others for eco-friendly activities, such as afforestation, water conservation, waste management, or air pollution reduction. In essence, it offers industries a convenient loophole to evade accountability.

Under existing laws, companies that clear forests for industrial projects or mining must provide equivalent land for afforestation. The Green Credit Programme, if implemented, would allow corporations to sidestep this requirement, thereby undermining compensatory afforestation principles.

Tapasya’s analysis of hundreds of government documents exposes India’s Ministry of Environment’s desperate attempts to lower standards, enabling industries to meet their green obligations with minimal effort.

Yet, the programme buckles under its contradictions—lax standards, fundamental flaws, legal challenges, and operational failures.

The investigation raises a provocative question: might the programme’s failure be a blessing in disguise for India’s forests? By stalling, it may prevent further erosion of environmental safeguards.

Read the story here: Red Flags Haunt Modi’s Green Credit Program

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Red Flags all over Modi’s Green Scheme

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