Introduction
Kyoto Protocol gives guidelines in reducing and tackling the severe impacts of climate change. The Protocol derives its parties from the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Protocol aims to reduce, commit, implement, account, report, and review and enforce compliance concerning the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Further to emission targets, some guidelines affect all Parties.
These include improving the quality of data on emissions, mitigation, use of an environmentally friendly technology, cooperation among researchers, and supporting training, capacity building, education, and public awareness regarding climate change. This essay shall use a registered CDM project called Amazon Carbon Swine Waste Management System Project 02 to analyze some of the issues regarding carbon credit.
Who are the parties involved?
The host country of this project was Brazil. Likewise, there was also a private entity involved in this project, Amazon Carbon S/S Ltda. The project covered four States in Brazilian with several farms of considerable swine populations. This is because of the cost and benefit advantages.
Describe the project
The project is in Brazil farms covering four States, namely Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goias, and Santa Catarina. The project used an approved baseline methodology of AMS-III.D “Methane Recovery in agricultural and agro-industrial activities” version 13. This was a small-scale project activity that aimed at recovering methane from manure and wastes from agricultural or agro-industrial activities. These materials decay anaerobically in the absence of the project to emit GHG.
Through installing methane recovery and combustion system, or introducing new management practices of biogenic materials enhance controlled anaerobic consumption suitable for methane combustion and recovery system. The project meets requirements of the methodology III.D that requires that the team handles the sludge aerobically and applies all technical measures in the processes to ensure full usage or flare of the resultant biogas.
Amazon Carbon started a sustainable program that aimed at increasing animal waste management systems, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) production, and changing the living status of people living around the project zones of 09 swine farms. The project had the purpose of reducing GHG emissions from swine waste and improving sustainable development in the area. The project aimed at replacing the existing swine waste management system with a low GHG emission system.
Currently, the existing systems resulted in higher emission of GHG than the proposed project. The project enhanced the existing system by using an anaerobic digester that trapped and burnt methane in a controlled and economical manner. The project proposed to run from the year 2009 to 2019 with GHG emission of reduction of 219, 245 tons of CO2e during the carbon credit period.
The project primarily concentrated on the reduction of GHG emission through the capturing and combustion of methane. All the waste materials must pass through the barn to the anaerobic digester where the digester traps a reasonable quantity of carbon dioxide and methane gas generated by the actions of bacteria. The digestion process reduces and creates stable organic materials, removes fertilizer materials, and emit biogas with the methane. The biogas can burn in a flare or, through a controlled means to destroy methane. The results of the processes lead to a reduction in the emission of GHG and the production of fertilizer that farmers apply in crop production.
This project shall contribute to sustainable development through managing swine wastes which can have environmental concerns. The project shall also create social benefits such as sustainability of a local environment, creating employment, acting as a source of income, promoting technological development, and enhancing regional cooperation and integration with other sectors and countries.
How many estimated credits will be produced and what kind of credit?
Carbon is the baseline for all other GHG emissions. This created the term carbon credit, which refers to one metric ton of carbon dioxide. Carbon credit has tradable units that are below cap known as allowances and polluters, which exceed their cap known as offsets. The Amazon Carbon project runs from the year 2009 to 2019 with an estimated reduction of 21,939 metric tons of carbon credit per annum.
What are the major risks to this project and what are the project strategies to overcome those risks?
Amazon Carbon project faced risks and had some ways to mitigate them. First, there were investment barriers due to the advanced nature of managing manure. Managing manure is a high-cost project. This is the reason why few countries use it worldwide. Thus, the project aimed at improving the existing systems of swine waste management. However, results in managing GHG emissions are impressive. Second, the project also experienced technological barriers.
Anaerobic digester system needs detailed planning for its installation. Technological drawbacks to the project included inadequate technological know-how for building and operating systems resulting in the high cost. There was also low efficiency due to poor maintenance, procedures, and operations. The project team trained farmers before the project could start. Likewise, they also identified farmers with large numbers of swine for cost and benefits purposes.
However, despite more than 30 years of training, swine farmers still lack the technical knowledge to run an anaerobic digester successfully. This has resulted in technological challenges and high operating costs. Farmers also restrict the use of anaerobic digester to swine waste only. Third, legal restrictions in Brazil affected the project. Brazil restricts access to protected areas and water sources. The project consumes large volumes of water. The law also restricts disposing of untreated swine wastes in the environment. The country has no clear policy on GHG emission management from swine farms.
If you were in a position to approve this project, would you approve this project?
This project would get the approval because it had met the requirements for CDM projects as stipulated in the 3/CMP1, Annex, paragraph 37. For instance, the project had met projects’ specifications under its methodology and baseline monitoring procedures, the project activities will result in a reduction of reasonable CO2e (additionality), the project has both environmental and social benefits to the community. At the same time, the Amazon Carbon project consulted various stakeholders and trained swine farmers in the four States of the project. It also had sufficient funding and satisfying other requirements under CDM projects.
The project also submitted documents to show the environmental consequences of the project activities, and its impacts on swine waste management. These impacts were significant, and the host country and other private stakeholders agreed with the project’s environmental outcomes. There are no moral or ethical issues that affected the project. This is a long-term and sustainable project (20 years).
If you wanted to help limit GHG emissions, would you buy one of the carbon credits produced from this project?
People interested in limiting GHG emissions should support the Amazon Carbon project. This is because the project successfully passed CDM project requirements and at the same time, elements used in judging a carbon offset. Besides, the project is additional because of its reduction effects on the emissions of GHG. The project has a reasonable quantity of carbon credit per annum for 20 years. This project is also added because no offset has happened from the host country. The project’s GHG emission reduction does not happen in the case of usual business because it has a long-term climate benefit.