This methodology quantifies the GHG emissions avoided from preventing the conversion of grasslands and shrublands to commodity croplands in the U.S. Livestock, primarily cattle, are anticipated to be common in the project scenario and associated emissions from enteric fermentation and manure deposition are accounted for. The methodology also includes two Avoided Planned Conversion baseline scenarios: where the conversion agent is identified and where unidentified. Projects that can identify the conversion agent are required to demonstrate proof of intent to convert by the identified agent. Where the specific conversion agent cannot be identified but a class of likely agents can, the Avoided Planned Conversion – Unidentified Agent baseline approach is used to determine the probability of conversion. This approach is based on the relative ratio of the property’s appraised value in the baseline and project scenarios.
Randal Dell, Marissa Ahlering, Joe Fargione, Peter Weisberg, David Diaz, Ashley Rood, Steven DeGryze, Benktesh D. Sharma
2013
Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, The American Carbon Registry
This methodology was developed by Terra Global Capital with support from the Environmental Defense Fund, Silver Lab at the University of California Berkeley, and the Marin Carbon Project. The methodology accounts for the carbon sequestration and avoided GHG emissions related to compost additions to grazed grasslands. It provides a quantification framework for emissions reductions from avoiding anaerobic decomposition of organic material used in compost production. This directly increases soil organic carbon (SOC) content and indirectly increases SOC sequestration through enhanced plant growth in amended fields. Apart from the economic benefit of increased forage production, applying compost to grazed grasslands has environmental co-benefits such as improved soil quality, decreased risk of erosion from water and wind by increasing soil aggregation, and increasing nutrient and water availability for forage vegetation.
Van R. Haden, Steven De Gryze, Nora Nelson
2014
Terra Global Capital & The American Carbon Registry
This methodology involves the capture of methane produced by the decomposition of manure from piggeries in covered anaerobic lagoons and the combustion of the methane component of the biogas to convert it to carbon dioxide and water.
Australia: Department of the Environment and Energy
2015
This methodology gives landowners the opportunity to earn Australian Carbon Credits by replacing urea lick blocks for pasture-fed beef cattle with nitrate lick blocks, which reduced methane emissions from enteric fermentation. This method applies to projects aiming to avoid agricultural emissions which:
- are located within Australia, including external territories;
- reduce emissions from enteric fermentation of pasture-fed beef cattle by feeding nitrate supplements to livestock; and
- could be expected to reduce methane emissions that would qualify for carbon abatement.
Australia: Department of the Environment and Energy
2014
This methodology involves the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from milking cows by feeding them a dietary supplement that reduces GHG emissions. These accepted supplements include: canola meal; cold-pressed canola meal; brewers grain; hominy meal; or dried distillers grain. This reduced GHG emissions like methane from rumen, cow emissions of nitrous oxide and methane emissions from dung and urine. The method can be applied to milking cows in Australia that are pasture grazed for at least 9 months of the year.
Australia: Department of the Environment and Energy
2015
This quantification protocol was developed to quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emission reductions from Dairy Farms in Canada. Greenhouse Gas emissions are normalized to a unit of “greenhouse gas emissions per unit of fat corrected milk (FCM) produced”. The scope of this protocol includes animals, buildings, and land which constitute the biophysical system of an individual dairy farm. Some aspects of the animal/building/land system are simplified or excluded because of the complexity of the system and of on-going development of more GHG quantification protocols in Canada.
Alberta Environment – Climate Change Secretariat
2010
Agricultural activities like the production of livestock result in a lot of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Beef cattle release a large amount of methane (CH4) as a result of digesting feed materials in the rumen; these are enteric fermentation emissions. Manure storage and handling in beef cattle operations can also be a significant source of GHG emissions – CH4 and nitrous oxide (N20) emissions. Selective breeding of cattle using a genetic marker for low residual feed intake (RFI) can result in a population of cattle that are more efficient in their digestion of feed. Increased efficiency of feed utilization reduces enteric fermentation emissions released by these bred cattle to compared to other cattle. The increased feed utilization efficiency of these RFI cattle also reduces the amount of manure that is produced, which further reduces the greenhouse gas emissions associated with cattle operations.
Livestock sector experts and agricultural scientists have developed a Tier 2 accounting procedure for enteric and manure emissions generated by different cattle classes in Canada through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Canada’s National Emissions Inventory (NIR). This serves as the foundation for quantification methodologies in this protocol. The scope of this protocol is limited to enteric fermentation emissions and associated manure greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle using a functionally equivalent metric of emissions per kilogram of live cattle weight.
Alberta Environment – Climate Change Secretariat
2012
Agricultural activities like the production of livestock result in a lot of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Beef cattle release a large amount of methane (CH4) as a result of digesting feed materials in the rumen; these are enteric fermentation emissions. Manure storage and handling in beef cattle operations can also be a significant source of GHG emissions – CH4 and nitrous oxide (N20) emissions.
This protocol for reducing GHG emissions from fed cattle addresses digestion and manure storage/handling sources of livestock GHG emissions. The protocol allows for quantifying GHG reductions using alterations in feeding strategies and other technologies in the final stages of beef cattle at feedlots in Alberta, Canada.
Livestock sector experts and agricultural scientists have developed a Tier 2 accounting procedures for enteric and manure emissions generated by different cattle classes in Canada through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Canada’s National Emissions Inventory (NIR). The scope of this protocol includes innovative management and feeding practice strategies that can increase the efficiency of feed use and reduce GHG emissions in cattle.
Alberta Carbon Offset Program
2016
Agricultural activities like the production of livestock result in a lot of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Beef cattle release a large amount of methane (CH4) as a result of digesting feed materials in the rumen; these are enteric fermentation emissions. Manure storage and handling in beef cattle operations can also be a significant source of GHG emissions – CH4 and nitrous oxide (N20) emissions. This protocol quantifies decreases in GHG emissions from the raising of beef cattle by reducing the number of days required for a feeder calf to get from birth to harvest. This applies to young cattle or those under 2 years of age. Feeder cattle that spend less time in backgrounding lots, pasture and in the feedlot produce fewer GHG emissions.
Alberta Environment – Climate Change Secretariat
2011
