COP28: India calls for focus on 'green credits' as alternative to carbon offsets

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Dec. 1 his country is looking to launch an initiative creating "green credits", billed as an alternative to carbon credits.

"On this platform I am calling for another pro planet, proactive and positive initiative -- that is the Green Credit Initiative. This is a mass campaign that goes beyond the commercial mindset associated with carbon credits," Modi said in a speech at the World Climate Action Summit, part of UN Climate Change conference. "It focuses on creating carbon sinks through people's participation and I invite all of you to join this initiative."

The Green Credit Initiative (GCI) is part of the Green Credit Program, which was launched by the Indian Ministry of Environment in October, and these credits will initially be generated from afocus on water conservation and afforestation projects.

The ministry calls its "a market-based mechanism to incentivize voluntary environmental actions by various stakeholders such as individuals, communities, private-sector industries, and companies."

In a press briefing on Nov. 30, India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the initiative "basically envisions the issue of green credits for plantations on waste and degraded lands and the river catchments areas to restore their vitality."

The UAE also officially joined the GCI at COP28, and India called on other countries to do so.

The voluntary carbon market has been shaken by a credibility crisis with the efficacy of many projects and carbon credits coming under fire from the media and academia. This has led to a steep fall in liquidity and confidence in the VCM, with many buyers reducing their activity.

The Platts Nature-Based Avoidance price, which reflects the most competitive internationally fungible carbon credits issued by nature-based projects such as REDD+ projects, continues to languish at record lows.

The Platts Nature Avoidance 2023 was assessed at $4/mtCO2e on Nov. 30, its lowest price since the assessment began in August 2021. Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights. Prices in January were as high as $11.60/mtCO2e.