Feasibility Study. Rural household biogas & conservation tillage CDM project development

Jul 2010

Agriculture is one of the major anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gas emissions in China particularly through CH4 (methane) and N2O (nitrous oxide)
emissions as well as loss of soil carbon stores. However, mitigation programmes in China have not paid sufficient attention to controlling emissions from the agricultural sector through CDM (clean development mechanism) projects. Funded by the Spanish MDG Achievement Fund, the study explored the potential of CDM projects in the agricultural sector in China in an effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and promote the development of sustainable agricultural technologies. Feasibility studies and methodology guidelines for CDM projects in two areas including rural household biogas and conservation tillage were conducted and proposed. The study thoroughly reviews the laws, regulations and policies of the Chinese government on rural renewable energy development and farmland management, and analyzes the economic benefits of various technologies to assess the additionality of CDM projects in household biogas and conservation tillage. Through study tours and surveys, the authors collected statistical data on household biogas production and distribution, fossil fuel replacement, and conservation tillage development and distribution of technologies to determine and explore the baselines. Approved CDM methodologies and their applicability were collected by the authors to develop methodology guidelines. The study also estimated the emission reduction potentials of CDM projects through case studies. On household biogas, the study showed that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of rural biogas. Laws, regulations and policies issued by the central government highlight the importance of biogas development for the building of the so-called new socialist countryside. Based on the statistical data on household biogas development, livestock development, climate condition, and energy consumption, the feasibility report establishes the selection criteria for identifying the most appropriate provinces for developing CDM projects in China, and estimates that about 20 provinces have the basic conditions for developing household biogas CDM projects.The methodologies approved by UNFCCC CDM Executive Board are listed and summarized with detailed application categories and conditions. To promote the application of the methodologies, a case study based on the data of Hunan Province was conducted to illustrate the critical issues and implementation procedures in developing CDM projects in household biogas, including the definition of baseline, CERs calculation, additionality assessment and other important issues which are critical for the development of CDM projects. It is estimated that each household would have a GHG emission reduction of 2.14 metric tons of CO2e annually in Hunan Province.
On conservation tillage, the study outlines the development of conservation tillage in China, and policies that the Chinese government has adopted to
support its development. Comparison between conservation tillage in China and countries in the world is made. According to the study, in recent years, the
Chinese government has paid great attention to the adoption of conservation tillage technology. At present, China is experiencing an important transition from experiment to extension of conservation tillage. There are currently about two million hectares of cropland in China under conservation tillage. During the 11th five-year plan period for the social and economic development of China (2006-2010), the Ministry of Agriculture of China sets the target for arable land under conservation tillage at more than four million hectares nationwide. Soil carbon sequestration in agricultural soils has huge potential. However,
under the first phase of Kyoto Protocol, LULUCF (land use, land-use change and forestry) activities are not allowed. In order to prepare a methodology for CDM projects in conservation tillage for future application, a feasibility study was conducted, which included applicability, project boundary, assessment of additionality, baseline determination, methods for estimating changes in soil organic carbon stocks and other GHG emissions, and associated monitoring plans.
The study concludes that CDM projects can be developed in conservation tillage to help increase the carbon stock, reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and improve sustainable natural resource management.

By: Dong Hongmin, Li Yu’e

 
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