FEATURE: Rice methane reduction methodologies roll call
Quantum Commodity Intelligence – US-based carbon registry Verra is aiming to complete a new methodology to cut rice methane emissions under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) by the end of this year.
However, Verra is not the only standard or offset scheme that offers or is planning to have methodologies to generate carbon credits from cutting methane emissions from rice production.
Gold Standard
Switzerland-based registry Gold Standard (GS) published version one of the Methodology for Methane Emission Reduction By Adjusted Water Management Practice in Rice Cultivation on July 6 last year, with the next planned update for July 5, 2026. GS said the methodology is applicable to measures that reduce the emissions of methane using a range of measures.
They are: changing the water regime during the cultivation period from continuously to intermittently flooded conditions and/or a shortened period of flooded conditions; using the alternate wetting and drying method (AWD); adopting aerobic rice cultivation methods; and switching from transplanted to direct-seeded rice (DSR).
AWD involves rice paddy fields being filled with water and then dried to suppress the activity of methanogenic bacteria in the soil that generate the methane, and so reduce emissions of the gas. DSR is a "crop establishment system wherein rice seeds are sown directly into the field, as opposed to the traditional method of growing seedlings in a nursery, then transplanting into flooded fields", according to the International Rice Research Institute.
GS said the methodology can be applied to large and small-scale or micro-scale projects or to programme of activities. "It has introduced options for determining country-specific baselines using Tier-2 approaches, as well as additional guidelines on baselines and methane measurements, and simplified approach for small scale and micro scale projects," according to the registry.
Verra
Verra's plans to complete a new rice methane methodology under the VCS by the end of this year, were given impetus with the appointment of consultancy Atoa Carbon to lead the work on the method last December.
Atoa is advised by Bayer Crop Science, Shell subsidiary Shell Energy India, and GenZero on development of the methodology, which is to replace the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology AMS-III.AU – 'Methane emission reduction by adjusted water management practice in rice cultivation'. Verra permanently inactivated the CDM methodology in March 2023, following a review that raised additionality concerns – that projects would go ahead that did not need carbon finance.
The new approach – Methodology for Improved Management in Rice Paddy Production Systems – is based on Verra's VM0042 Methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management, VMD0053 Model Calibration, Validation, and Uncertainty Guidance for the Methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management, and VMD0029 Estimation of Emissions from Non-CO2 GHGs from Soils, as well as AMS-III.AU.
"The methodology incorporates the latest scientific findings and technological innovations for improving the management of rice production systems and the quantification of GHG emissions from those systems," Verra said, adding that the method will apply new agriculture techniques, such as AWD.
Last month, Verra invited proposals from validation and verification bodies (VVBs) to review the new proposal and will announce the winner by March 20. The VVB assessment is expected to start in early April, parallel to a public consultation on the methodology, and last about three months.
J-Credit offset scheme
Japan approved methodology AG-005 'Extension of drying period in paddy rice cultivation' last November to enable the creation of carbon credits under its domestic J-Credits scheme. It extends the drying period of rice fields by at least seven days from the average number of implementation days to reduce emissions of methane.
The first three projects under AG-005 were approved last June. A total of nine projects are now listed in the J-Credit registry as using the methodology. J-Credits totalling 12,289tCO2e were certified by the certification committee at its 57th meeting in January from three rice methane projects.
Joint Crediting Mechanism
Last month, Japanese companies Kubota Corporation, Tokyo Gas and Creattura announced a methodology to cut methane emissions from rice cultivation and that they are working on a pilot project in the Philippines that they aim to register under Japan's Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM). The methodology uses the AWD approach to cut methane emissions from rice production.
The companies said that the demo, which is located in the Pangasinan region of the Philippines, started in September last year and will run until May this year, with the ultimate aim of being the first private sector-funded agricultural JCM project in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
The project covers approximately 1,300 hectares of rice paddy fields and involves about 600 local farmers, who are also receiving training, they added. Training includes how to select seeds, soil management and implementation of AWD.
"Based on the results of this demonstration, a more effective and reliable methodology will be developed, with the aim of registering the first private JCM project in the agricultural sector in the ASEAN region and creating high-quality carbon credits," the partners said. No details were revealed on the amount of carbon credits the project could deliver.
They added that Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has established an expert committee to promote the use of JCM in the agricultural sector with the application of AWD to rice production expected to be adopted as a methodology. A MAFF official confirmed to Quantum that the Philippines project feeds into its plans for AWD under the JCM.
At COP28 in Dubai late last year, MAFF officials told Quantum that an initiative was underway, in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), looking at bringing agriculture into the JCM and how it could also fit under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
The Philippines and Vietnam are the first countries where opportunities are being explored, but "we look to scale up and out … and are happy to cooperate with other partner countries", Ritsuko Yoneda, director of multilateral affairs and agro-environmental issues at MAFF, told Quantum in Dubai.
The expert committee, under the auspices of the ADB, met for the first time at the end of January and will meet four more times during the year to work on the AWD methodology and explore its use under Article 6. Yoneda said in Dubai that the aim is for the methodology to be finalised by July or August 2024, although there could be slight differences to the approaches taken to include country-specific factors.
The methodology or methodologies would then need to be approved by the Joint Committee of the JCM, which oversees each JCM bilateral agreement, after which stakeholders will be able to apply it for project development.
Us Programme
In October last year, Japanese company Life Lab launched a registry for carbon credits generated under its own Us Carbon Offset Programme, which includes a rice methane reduction methodology. The 'Methane Emission Reduction by Extending the Mid-Season Drainage Period in Paddy Rice Cultivation' (UM-D101) methodology has been effective since June 23 last year.
UM-D101 covers emission reduction activities in Japan by extending the conventional period of mid-season drainage, during which paddy fields are drained and dried during the rice cultivation period. The ecological impact of these activities will also be assessed.
The Us programme currently lists two projects – Extending the mid-season drainage period in Kato paddy rice cultivation and Extending the mid-season drainage period in Chugoku/Shikoku paddy rice cultivation – that cover a total of 70 hectares. They were registered on July 24, with project start dates listed as April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2032. A small number of credits are available for forward purchase.
Others
Sistem Registrasi Nasional (SRN), Indonesia's national climate change registry, includes a methodology 'Reducing CH4 (methane) Emissions From Rice Fields' (MSAP-002). The methodology was approved in February 2020 and envisages the use of "land management" technologies, other technologies that reduce water usage, and low-emission rice varieties.
In December, the government of Vietnam announced a pilot initiative to trial payment for carbon credits based on the performance of low-carbon emission rice in the Mekong Delta region. The programme will cover an area equivalent to 1 million hectares in the province of Hau Giang, and, if the pilot is successful, the programme will be expanded nationwide.