The Ministry of Ecology and Environment officially released four methodologies, and four of the more than 300 items were selected.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has released the methodology for four voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, including afforestation carbon sinks, grid-connected solar thermal power generation, grid-connected offshore wind power generation, and mangrove planting.

The relevant responsible comrades of the Department of Climate Change said that the methodology of the voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction project (hereinafter referred to as the methodology) is the main basis for guiding the design, implementation, verification and emission reduction accounting and verification of voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in specific fields, and is a necessary supporting technical specification document to support the standardized and efficient operation of the national greenhouse gas voluntary emission reduction trading market. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) released the first batch of these four methodologies, which means that these are the first four specific support areas to be included in the voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction market to be launched.

The reporter learned from the interview that the first easy and then the difficult, the mature one release, the best choice, high social expectations, additionality, etc., are the key information to understand why these four methodologies were released this time.

In an interview, the relevant responsible comrade of the Climate Department said, "We take the service of the 'double carbon' goal as the fundamental starting point, on the basis of widely soliciting methodological suggestions from the society, first easy and then difficult, step by step, in accordance with the basic principle of 'mature one, release one', select four project methodologies with high social expectations, clear emission reduction mechanism, guaranteed data quality, social and ecological benefits, can achieve effective supervision, and have obvious additionality, to serve the launch of the voluntary emission reduction trading market." ”

The relevant responsible comrade of the Climate Department pointed out that as a high-quality and tradable public good provided for the whole society, certified voluntary emission reductions should be accountable, traceable, and verifiable, and have high data quality management requirements such as social integrity, qualification access, and government supervision, especially for additionality. The premise of the so-called additionality must be the emission reductions achieved by human efforts, such as the carbon sinks naturally generated by primeval forests and oceans cannot be developed into tradable voluntary emission reductions, and everyone must have a rational understanding.

Why these 4 methodologies?

It has advantages and emission reduction potential, effectively responds to social expectations, and ensures that the voluntary emission reduction trading market has a certain scale

The reporter learned from the interview that the four methodologies released this time have their own characteristics and have certain representativeness and emission reduction potential. The afforestation carbon sequestration methodology can effectively respond to social expectations, is conducive to promoting the realization of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, is an effective channel for realizing the value of ecological products, and is a vivid interpretation of the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets".

Grid-connected CSP projects have the advantages of absorbing curtailment of wind and solar power and performing rapid peak regulation as a flexible regulated power source, and are generally recognized as green and low-carbon technologies in the renewable energy industry, and also belong to the "National Key Promotion of Low-carbon Technology Catalogue (Fourth Batch)" issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Offshore wind power projects are in line with the strategic direction of China's offshore wind power industry to develop towards high power and deep sea, and are sunrise industries in the field of renewable energy.

The ecological and environmental benefits of mangrove construction methodology are outstanding, which is conducive to promoting mangrove protection.

How were these 4 methodologies chosen?

A total of more than 300 methodologies were collected, which were selected according to the principles of high social expectations, clear emission reduction mechanisms, guaranteed data quality, both social and ecological benefits, and effective supervision

Industries and institutions concerned about methodology still remember that from March to April 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) openly solicited methodological suggestions for voluntary emission reduction projects from the whole society, and the social response was very enthusiastic, with more than 300 methodological suggestions received, covering 15 fields such as energy industry, forestry, and waste treatment and disposal. The number of "more than 300 items" can feel the enthusiasm of the national voluntary emission reduction market and methodology.

More than 300 methodologies have been collected, how to choose? The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has formulated a work plan for the evaluation and selection of methodological recommendations for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, determined the evaluation and selection procedures and requirements, and has organized two rounds of methodological evaluation and selection, the first round of selection of 10 priority support methodological areas, which is equivalent to a rough screening process, and the second round of selection of 10 specific methodological suggestions from 10 priority support areas for the final screening.

From August to September 2023, the Climate Department organized experts to study the selected 10 methodological recommendations one by one from the perspective of scientificity, fairness, and operability, and further selected methodologies that have the conditions for publication in accordance with the principles of high social expectations, clear emission reduction mechanisms, guaranteed data quality, both social and ecological benefits, and effective supervision. Since then, it has organized experts in various fields such as the submission unit of the methodology, the supporting unit of the industry competent department, the industry association, the project owner, the verification and verification agency to repeatedly study and discuss, and invited the relevant departments to intervene in advance to revise and improve the relevant methodology, and has held more than 20 revision meetings, participated in more than 300 people, and revised and formed the current four methodological drafts for comments.

Since then, the Climate Division has solicited opinions from all parties on the four methodological drafts, and has once again mobilized all parties to revise them one by one.

What about the previous methodology?

The original methodology is difficult to meet the requirements of the new situation under the dual carbon goals

Methodology is not new. Before 2017, the original climate change authorities had filed a total of 200 methodologies, but the original methodologies could no longer meet the current requirements of the voluntary emission reduction market.

First, 173 of the original 200 methodologies have been translated and transformed from the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and 165 methodologies have never been applied in practice. 

For example, the "renewable energy grid-connected power generation methodology" with a high application rate covers a wide range of projects, including a large number of projects such as wind power, photovoltaic, hydropower, and geothermal, and relies too much on the additionality of the project to judge whether the project meets the conditions.

Third, the parameters required to be monitored in the original methodology cannot be traced and verified, and there is a lack of guidance on data verification methods, which makes it difficult to meet the requirements of authenticity and accurate data of projects under the "double commitment" mechanism of the new voluntary emission reduction market.

According to the just-released Administrative Measures for Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading (Trial), the original methodology is no longer applicable, and project owners are required to apply for registration of voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in accordance with the project methodology issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

What are the considerations for ensuring data quality?

Generate internationally recognized high-quality carbon credits and maintain market fairness

那么，方法学的编制思路和基本原则是什么？就是综合考虑我国相关产业政策要求和绿色低碳技术发展趋势，明确符合我国管理实际的基本条件，强化数据质量管理要求，提升数据核算和监测的可操作性，做到既符合国际标准，又确保减排量真实、准确、保守，能够Generate internationally recognized high-quality carbon credits and maintain market fairness。

The basic principles emphasize the principles of science, fairness and openness, operability and conservatism.

The first is the principle of science. In line with the management requirements of relevant industries in China, the methodological emission reduction mechanism is clear and uncontroversial, and the project boundary demarcation, monitoring method selection, and data cross-checking methods meet the requirements of relevant industry technical specifications. In line with international practices, the selection of greenhouse gas sources (reservoirs) and the accounting of emission reductions are consistent with international mechanisms such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the United Nations, and have a scientific basis for mutual recognition.

The second is the principle of fairness and openness. The scope of application of the methodology is "small and precise", the criteria for judging the eligibility of the project are clear, and all participants in the market can judge whether they meet the conditions for developing as a voluntary emission reduction project without the need for complex technical processes such as additionality demonstration. The methodology guides the whole process of project design, implementation, validation, emission reduction accounting and verification process, and guides all market participants to fully disclose the emission reduction calculation process and data acquisition methods to ensure that the public can review the verification results.

The third is the principle of operability. In a scientific and operational manner, the legal departments of all parties have refined the methods, methods, verification and verification requirements of data monitoring, clarified the specific implementation of the project owner and the work requirements of the verification and verification agency, and ensured the implementation of the technical requirements for relevant data quality. The default values of measurement parameters and emission reduction calculation models are used to replace the parameters that need to be monitored by the project owner, so as to improve the operability and fairness of project data quality supervision, and reduce project development costs and regulatory costs while strengthening data reliability and consistent comparability.

Fourth, the principle of conservatism. On the basis of ensuring that all data can be monitored, traceable and verifiable, data monitoring and accounting are carried out in strict accordance with the principle of conservatism, and conservative methods are used to estimate and take values for the parameters to be monitored, as well as the greenhouse gas sources (reservoirs) with uncertainties, so as to ensure that the emission reduction of the project is not overcalculated, and the emission reduction results of similar projects are fair and comparable.