We are going global!🌏 Thanks to Verra and ATOA Carbon for the release of the new Rice Methodology which allows AgriCapture to bring our project to new markets through our partners at Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP). Interested in a project? Reach out to Ashton Moody, CPA at [email protected].
🍚 Verra has released its new rice methodology in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program! VM0051 applies to projects implementing improved water and crop management practices in flooded rice systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The methodology replaces the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology AMS-III.AU.: Methane emission reduction by adjusted water management practice in rice cultivation, v4.0, which Verra had inactivated in March 2023. Rice is the primary food source for more than half of the global population. Yet, rice systems, which cover around 168 million hectares of the earth’s surface, are one of the largest sources of methane emissions in agriculture. ➡️ This methodology can play a significant role in fighting climate change by encouraging the adoption of sustainable practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve resource use efficiency (particularly for water and fertilizers such as nitrogen), and support socio-environmental co-benefits (e.g., reducing pollution, enhancing farmers’ income, increasing women’s access to agricultural training and financial services). With this new methodology, project proponents can credibly achieve emission reductions and generate high-quality Verified Carbon Units (VCUs). These credits will be sought after by stakeholders on the demand side seeking to further support the scaling of improved rice management technologies and food security, as well as meet their climate targets. 🔎 VM0051 incorporates a number of important features that improve upon the inactivated CDM methodology, including the following: - New and strengthened criteria for demonstration of additionality - A broader range of eligible project activities - Safeguards to avoid soil organic carbon (SOC) losses due to the implementation of project activities - A requirement to monitor and quantify N2O emissions as well as CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and energy consumption - A dynamic baseline setting approach that accounts for potential impacts due to actual weather conditions - Expanded guidance for project area stratification and quantification of emission reductions - Flexible quantification approaches, including the use of biogeochemical models for emission reduction estimates - Best practice guidance for the use of digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) Read the full announcement: https://bit.ly/3CZsHtD #Verra #StandardsMatter #CarbonMarkets #CarbonCredits #ClimateAction