VM00042

By

Rishika Reddy

The agricultural sector, a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, presents a unique opportunity for climate change mitigation. By adopting improved agricultural land management (ALM) practices, farmers can substantially reduce their carbon footprint and even sequester carbon dioxide in the soil. The VM0042 v2.1 methodology, developed by Verra, offers a robust framework to measure, verify, and incentivize these benefits.

This methodology provides procedures to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions (CO2, CH4, and N2O) and carbon dioxide removals resulting from the adoption of improved ALM practices. These practices align with regenerative agriculture principles, focusing on soil health and biodiversity. A core principle of VM0042 v2.1 is increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, a natural carbon sink that enhances soil fertility.

The methodology establishes a clear baseline scenario based on historical practices and requires projects to demonstrate additionality, ensuring that the implemented practices wouldn't have occurred without the project's incentives. VM0042 v2.1 offers three approaches for quantifying GHG impacts:

• Measure and Model: This approach utilizes validated models to estimate GHG fluxes based on soil characteristics, implemented practices, and climatic conditions;
• Measure and Remeasure: This approach directly measures changes in SOC stocks through field measurements;
• Default Factors: This approach uses established emission factors from the IPCC guidelines to calculate GHG impacts.

This agricultual land management (ALM) methodology provides procedures to estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions (CO2, CH4, and N2O) and carbon dioxide removals (reductions and removals) resulting from the adoption of improved ALM practices. The methodology is compatible with regenerative agriculture and has a particular focus on increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. The crediting baseline and additionality are determined via a project method.

The baseline scenario assumes the continuation of pre-project ALM practices. Practices in the baseline scenario are determined by applying a minimum three-year historical look-back period to produce an annual schedule of activities (i.e., tillage, planting, harvest, and fertilization events) for each quantification unit within the project area (e.g., for each field), to be repeated over the baseline period. Baseline emissions/stock changes are then modeled. Alternatively, baseline SOC stock change may be directly measured in “baseline control sites” managed according to pre-project practices as set out in the schedule of activities. The baseline scenario is re-evaluated as required by the most recent version of the VCS Standard, and revised, where necessary, to reflect current agricultural production in the region.

Additionality is demonstrated by a barrier analysis and showing that the practice change implemented under the project activity is not common practice. A practice change constitutes any of the following:

• Adoption of a new practice (e.g., adoption of one or more of the practices covered in the categories included in Applicability Condition 1);
• Cessation of a pre-existing practice (e.g., stop tillage or irrigation);
• Adjustment to a pre-existing practice; or
• Some combination of the above.

Any quantitative adjustment (e.g., decrease in fertilizer application rate) must exceed 5% of the pre-existing value to qualify as a practice change.

*Approach 1 may only be used where a valid model is available (see model requirements in VMD0053).

**Where included in the project boundary, woody biomass is calculated using the CDM A/R tools Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities and Simplified baseline and monitoring methodology for small-scale CDM afforestation and reforestation project activities implemented on lands other than wetlands. Where woody biomass is harvested, project proponents must calculate the long-term average GHG benefit following guidance in the most recent versions of the VCS Methodology Requirements, 18 and the VCS Standard

***Measured data on CH4 and N2O fluxes as described in VMD0053, v2.0 are required for model calibration and validation when following Quantification Approach 1. Periodic measurements of CH4 and N2O fluxes as part of project monitoring is not required.

For each pool/source, subdivisions of the project area using different quantification approaches must be stratified and accounted separately. A project may switch between allowable quantification approaches for a given source during the project lifetime, provided that the same approach is used for both the project and baseline scenarios. The quantification approaches are as follows.

Quantification Approach 1: Measure and Model

An acceptable model is used to estimate GHG flux based on soil characteristics, implemented ALM practices, measured initial SOC stocks, and climatic conditions in quantification units. Measurements of SOC stocks are required every five years or more frequently (see Table 8). The remeasurement data is used to re-estimate model prediction error and recalibrate the model (i.e., “true-up”, see Section 8.6.1.3).

Neither initial nor periodic measurements of CH4 and N2O fluxes are required as part of project monitoring. High-quality observed experimental data on soil CH4 and N2O emissions from controlled research trials or approved data sources as described in VMD0053 are required for model calibration.

Quantification Approach 2: Measure and Remeasure

Direct measurement is used to quantify changes in SOC stocks. This approach is relevant where models are unavailable or have not yet been validated or parameterized, or where project proponents prefer to use a direct measurement approach for SOC stock change. The baseline scenario is measured and remeasured directly at a baseline control site linked to one or more quantification units. Quantification Approach 2 is only applicable to SOC.

Quantification Approach 3: Default Factors

GHG flux is calculated following the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories using equations contained in this methodology.

Where a given activity is not practiced in the baseline or project scenarios, resulting in an effective input of zero for any equation element in this methodology, that equation element is not required.

Baseline and project emissions are calculated for each sample field using applicable default values and any monitored parameters. The most accurate available emission factor applicable to the project conditions must be used, in the following descending order of preference:

1) Where available, a project-specific emission factor from a peer-reviewed scientific publication20 must be used.

2) Where there is no relevant peer-reviewed scientific literature, the project proponent may propose alternative sources of information (e.g., government databases, industry publications) to establish the default factor(s) and must provide evidence that the alternative source of information is robust and credible (e.g., independent expert attestation).

3) Where no alternative information source is available that is applicable to the project conditions, projects may derive emission factors using activity data collected during the project by following the guidance to derive Tier 2 emission factors in the respective sections of the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

4) Where projects justify a lack of sufficient activity data and project-specific information sources, Tier 1 and Tier 1a emission factors from the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories may be selected.

Summary

Figure 1 Summarizes which equations are to be applied to each GHG flux depending on the selected quantification approach

Woody biomass must be quantified as per Table 1 using the CDM A/R tools Estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities and Simplified baseline and monitoring methodology for small-scale CDM afforestation and reforestation project activities implemented on lands other than wetlands, and reported using Equations (48) and (49).