Verra Releases New Rice Methodology

Verra has released Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Methodology VM0051 Improved Management in Rice Production Systems, v1.0. VM0051 applies to projects implementing improved water and crop management practices in flooded rice systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This methodology replaces the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology AMS-III.AU.: Methane emission reduction by adjusted water management practice in rice cultivation, v4.0 (external), 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. As a result, 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).

VM0051 adopts the latest scientific principles to ensure the robust quantification of greenhouse gas emission reductions resulting from improved management practices in flooded rice systems. It also incentivizes the adoption of innovative management practices in rice production systems, such as the cultivation of improved rice varieties and the use of methanotrophic bacteria to further reduce methane emissions.

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 (e.g., regulatory surplus, use of remote sensing data)
• A broader range of eligible project activities (e.g., the use of methanotrophs, shortened cultivation periods, avoided residue burning, the use of short-duration or low-emission rice cultivars, the use of improved N-fertilizer management to reduce N₂O)
• 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), including remote sensing and machine learning/artificial intelligence, to streamline validation and verification of project data

• Registered projects using AMS-III.AU. can transition to VM0051 by following the VCS Methodology Change and Requantification Procedure, v4.0 (PDF) if updating to VM0051 for past verification periods.
• Registered projects using AMS-III.AU. can transition to VM0051 by following the Procedure to Change Project Methodology through a Project Description Deviation, v4.0 (PDF) if updating to VM0051 for future monitoring periods only.
• Pipeline-listed projects can transition by updating their project descriptions in line with VM0051 when requesting registration.

Development of this new methodology began in late 2023 and Verra held a public consultation in 2024. Verra led the development process with the support of consultant ATOA Carbon (external) and external reviewers.

Verra is developing a digitalized version of this methodology, which will be released through the Verra Project Hub in the coming weeks. Verra’s digitalized methodologies streamline the project submission process, facilitating the accurate creation of project documents and monitoring reports by using templates to collect all the project details required for a given methodology. Verra will also explore the adaptation of VM0051 as a methodology for use in its Scope 3 Standard Program, currently under development.  

On Tuesday, March 11, at 11:00 am ET, Verra and ATOA Carbon will host a webinar to provide an overview of this methodology.