Measuring, recording and verifying greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation
Describes methods established by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for GHG estimation from farms and forests. Recommends a single method for quantifying GHG emissions/sequestration for each particular source category (e.g., CH4 from rice cultivation) determined from the activity data, published emission factors, and accounting methods and tools typically available for the farm/forest scale in the U.S.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
CDM provides methodologies for:
These methodologies are intended for monitoring of CDM projects. The CDM allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2. These CERs can be traded and sold. Format is text guidelines. Developed by CDM.
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
The CCAFS-MOT tool integrates published empirical models to emissions for different land use systems according to management types. Allows the user to rank mitigation potential of over 34 crop and livestock management practices, including geographic distinctions. Intended for decision-makers at the national and subnational levels to prioritize low-emission options in the agriculture sector. Excel-based, downloadable tool with minimal data input requirements (5-10 minutes). Developed by CCAFS and University of Aberdeen in collaboration with USAID.
CCAFS, CGIAR Research program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security: Wageningen, The Netherlands
The GHG Mitigation in Rice Information Kiosk is a communication tool for information on greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options in rice production systems and is part of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s (CCAC) Agriculture Initiative. It covers best practices for minimizing emissions of climate pollutants from agriculture while increasing productivity and improving food security and livelihoods. Resources include recent publications and research that cover management practices, data on farming technologies and practices, climate policy, information on current projects. Information is specific to focus countries: Bangladesh, Colombia, and Vietnam.
International Rice Research institute (IRRI)
This journal article assesses different applications of the GHG calculator named SECTOR (Source-selective and Emission-adjusted GHG CalculaTOR for Cropland), mainly as add-ons to field measurements, for GHG calculation at national/sectorial scale and within measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of development projects.
Renier Wassman, Pasco R., Zerrrudo J., Ngo D.M., Vo T.B.T., Sander B.O.
2019
Carbon Management
“The American Carbon Registry has approved the Methodology of Voluntary Emission Reductions in Rice Management Systems. It is applicable to Agricultural Land Management (ALM) project activities involving a change in cultivation practices. The methodology was developed by Terra Global Capital LLC with support from Applied Geosolutions LLC, the Environmental Defense Fund and the California Rice Commission.”
“The methodology is modular in structure, lending itself to applicability in rice-growing regions around the world. The parent methodology provides definitions, applicability criteria, project boundary definition, baseline and additionality requirements, quantification methods, monitoring and verification requirements, and uncertainty calculations for all modules. The methodology defines Rice-Growing Regions, geographic regions in which the climate and rice management practices are relatively homogeneous, and over which the DNDC model (the main quantification tool in this methodology) is calibrated and validated.”
Terra Global Capital
2013
American Carbon Registry & Winrock International
This Climate Action Reserve (CAR) protocol provides a methodology for accounting for changes in methane emissions from rice fields with the adoption of dry seeding with delayed flooding or post-harvest rice straw removal and baling. Eligible projects must be located within the California rice region in the United States.
Climate Action Reserve (CAR)
2014
This methodology comprises technology/measures that reduce anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in rice cropping soils, which reduce the generation of methane. The methodology includes projects such as:
UNFCCC
2014
This handbook aims to inform researchers and policymakers engaged or interested in the development and implementation of MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) for rice paddy water management. It provides some basic information about MRV methodologies but focuses on quantifying GHG emissions and reductions, and includes updates on evolving issues. It can also be applied to other rice-related MRV methodologies but is primarily geared toward water management of irrigated rice paddies.
Minamikawa K., Yamaguchi T., Tokida T., Sudo S., Yagi K.
2018
Tsukuba, Japan: Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO
SAMPLES is a global research program of CCAFS that provides guidance for measuring GHG emissions and carbon storage in smallholder agricultural systems. The SAMPLES web platform provides a database of GHG emission factors for agriculture, a compilation of tools for estimation of GHG emissions from agriculture, and guidelines for measurement (also published as an open-access book).
CCAFS, CGIAR Research program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security: Wageningen, The Netherlands