September 30, 2010,
Los Angeles, CA – The Climate Action Reserve (CAR), a North American carbon
offset registry, has released version 3.0 of the Livestock Project Protocol,
providing updated guidelines for livestock operations to participate in the
carbon market.
September 30, 2010,
Los Angeles, CA – The Climate Action Reserve (CAR), a North American carbon
offset registry, has released version 3.0 of the Livestock Project Protocol,
providing updated guidelines for livestock operations to participate in the
carbon market.
With the updated
protocol, operations have more opportunities to reduce their methane emissions
and earn offset credits that can be sold in the carbon market. With this
protocol, operations that capture and destroy methane from livestock manure
before it is released into the atmosphere receive carbon offset credits that
can be traded in the carbon market.
“The protocol
ensures that livestock operations can effectively reduce greenhouse gases and
thrive while earning offset credits in a carbon market,” said Linda Adams,
secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and chair of the
Climate Action Reserve’s board of directors.
Version 3.0 of the
protocol includes revised guidance on determining the greenhouse gas (GHG)
assessment boundary of projects. This includes details on the standard stocking
rates and new options for complying with the reporting period and verification
requirements to reduce verification costs. All offset projects registered with
the Climate Action Reserve are required to undergo independent, third-party
verification.
“Livestock manure
management provides a key opportunity to reduce significant methane emissions,
while at the same time generating revenue for the livestock operator,” said
Gary Gero, president of the Climate Action Reserve. “Version 3.0 of the
Livestock Project Protocol recognizes that opportunity and ensures that
livestock manure management projects are developed, quantified and verified
with the highest level of integrity.”
The Climate Action
Reserve also released version 2.0 of the Mexico Livestock Project Protocol,
which provides guidance for livestock offset projects in Mexico.
To date, livestock
projects registered with the Climate Action Reserve have reduced 151,903 metric
tons of CO2e from the atmosphere, equivalent to taking more than
29,000 passenger vehicles off the road annually.
