Can green and carbon credits drive investment opportunities in rural India?

India is grappling with a surge in extreme climate events causing significant losses, with a shortfall in global climate action, according to the 2023 Synthesis Report of the first Global Stocktake by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). With an aim to promote sustainability and reduce carbon emissions, the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) and the Green Credit Programme (GCP) were launched under the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative this year. 

Climate Policy and the Poor: Some Perspectives

The article explores the effects that India's climate policy will have in the context of the country's existing development problems India is expected to face severe challenges as a result of climate change and these will disproportionately affect the poor and the most vulnerable The country's current climate policies nevertheless adopt an approach that seems unlikely to improve conditions for the poor, unless it shifts from a top-down, growth-oriented strategy towards prioritizing access to basic goods and services as a primary policy goal.