Govt Ties Green Credits to Tree Survival and Canopy Cover

Quick Summary

• The Indian government revised its Green Credit Program, replacing the 2024 framework with a new one notified on August 29, 2025.
• Green credits will now be awarded after five years based on achieving at least 40% canopy density and survival of planted trees, ensuring an outcome-based approach.
• Previously, under the 2024 framework, credits were granted immediately after plantation certification and were based solely on tree count.
• The new system requires a verification process through designated agencies instead of direct certification by the Forest department as in earlier provisions.
• Claims can now only be exchanged once for specific purposes such as compensatory afforestation or CSR obligations before becoming non-transferable. Comparatively, under the previous system, green credits were tradable and reusable for reporting indicators like ESG compliance.
• Projects initiated under the previous notification (2024) will still follow the earlier rules; though, future claims must adhere to this revised methodology.

Indian Opinion Analysis
The shift from an activity-centric approach to an outcome-driven methodology signals a more rigorous focus on environmental effectiveness in India’s ecological policies. By emphasizing tree survival rates and canopy density rather than just plantation numbers, these measures align green initiatives more firmly with tangible ecological benefits like carbon sequestration and biodiversity improvement.Restricting credit transferability ensures accountability but may limit corporate incentives for wide-scale participation compared to earlier frameworks enabling reuse under CSR or ESG compliance goals. However, mandatory verification is expected to uphold openness in environmental reporting-an essential step towards fair regulation.Linking restoration success with long-term benefits reflects India’s broader commitment toward sustainable forestry management while balancing corporate roles via controlled flexibility within project approvals or compensatory afforestation contexts.

Read More: The Hindu – What are the new green credit programme rules explained