Presenters: Juna Shrestha and Benjamin Huber Title: Carbon offsetting to sustainably finance the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Nepal Date: October 4, 2016 Venue: Mann Library 160, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Sponsors: SRI-Rice, International Programs, CALS, Cornell University

1. Carbon offsetting to sustainably Finance
the System of Rice Intensification SRI in
Nepal
Juna Shrestha, Benjamin Huber
Cornell University, 4 October 2016

2. Content
• Introduction to ClimateRe
• Project ‘Reducing methane emission from rice farming in Nepal’
• Carbon offset for SRI projects

3. Our multidisciplinary team
Juna
Environmental Science
Beni
Geologist
Prem
Agronomist
Daniele
Agro-economist
Thomas
Climatologist

4. ClimateRe – Association for a climate resilient society
“Our vision is a climate resilient society where every person has equitable
access to knowledge, technology and finance, enabling them to
adequately deal with climate risks.”
Knowledge
Technology
Financial
Services Climate resilient
society

5. Knowledge Financial servicesTechnology
What
we offer
How
you
benefit
Our
assets
Translate scientific
knowledge into simple
understandable information
Transfer scientific knowledge
to agricultural practices
through extension services
Technical assistance for
setting up micro-insurance
programs
Raised awareness on the
impacts of climate change
and the associated risks and
opportunities
Equipped with appropriate
tools to mitigate climate
risks lead to increased
productivity and improved
food security
Assistance in selecting
credit and insurance
services for better managing
agricultural risks
•Strong track-record in
climate modeling, nutrient
cycle and soil water
balance
•Established links to
universities and research
institutes
•Field experience in rural
development sector
•Experience in developing
and implementing
agriculture projects
•Strong network of NGOs,
development agencies and
governmental bodies in
Nepal
•Network of experts in
South and South-East Asia
•Experience in design and
pricing of insurance
products
•Network of experts in
index based insurance
•Network of insurance
professionals in
India and Thailand
What we offer
5

6. Reducing methane emission from rice cultivation in
Nepal
• 55,000 ha of rice field converted into SRI method
• Abate 500,000 tCO2eq in a period of 10 years
• After 10 years, the project area will reduce 99,000 tCO2eq/year methane

7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkQj4V8VsAY

8. • For this project we use a default value of 0.72 kgCH4/ha/day
• For a rice growing period of 120 days, the project will reduce 2 tons of
tCO2eq/ha/year
• Estimated methane reduction potential of SRI is > 20% and global
methane emission from rice is estimated 50 to 100 Mt/year
• Even with most conservative estimate, the global methane emissions
will be reduced by minimum 10 Mt/year (210 MtCO2eq).
Methane emission reduction potential of SRI

9. • The price of carbon credits depends on several factors such as
quality/standard and project type, demand and regulation
• Because of its high socio-economical benefits in addition to the
GHG reduction potential, we will develop a gold standard project.
• Established in 2003 by WWF and other international NGOs as a
best practice benchmark for energy projects developed under the
UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
• Gold Standard was set up to ensure that projects delivered genuine
emission reductions and long-term sustainable development.
• Based on the current prices of Gold Standard certificates we
estimate an average price of 5 USD / ton CO2 (i.e. potential of 1
billion USD)
Potential revenues from CDM carbon offset

10. 2011 CDM AMS-III.AU
• Methane emission reduction by adjusted water management practice in
rice cultivation
• Submitted by Bayer CropScience 16 November 2010
• Projects Indonesia and Philippines
2013 Voluntary Emission Reductions in Rice Management Systems
• Prepared by Terra Global Capital, LLC
• With support from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), California Rice
Commission, Applied Geosolutions, LLC
2012 – 2015 Vietnam Low Carbon Rice Project (VLCRP)
• VLCRP seeks to significantly reduce GHG emissions from rice cultivation
Carbon offset methodologies

11. • Scoping study (Rice cultivation practices, carbon offset programs and
micro insurance)
• Partnership opportunities (Insurance companies, research institutions
etc.)
• Grants and funding for project implementation
Next steps

12. ©2016 ClimateRe. All rights reserved.
ClimateRe
Seehofstrasse 6B
6330 Cham
Switzerland
Email: info@climatere.org
Phone: +41 (0) 52 202 00 97

13. Our approach
We support the reduction of climate risks in the area of agriculture while
providing new opportunities through our three-tier approach:
• Risk mitigation of adverse impacts of climate change
• Risk coping to withstand and manage events through ex-ante and ex-
post activities
• Risk transfer through insurance products and solutions
Climate
Risk
Risk
mitigation
Climate
Risk
Climate
Risk
Risk
coping
Risk
transfer
3

14. AMS-III.AU Ex ante estimation of emission reductions

15. Methane emission reduction by adjusted water management
practice in rice cultivation (AMS-III.AU)
Methodology key elements

16. Example Knowledge – Climate resilience toolbox
The toolbox transforms scientific knowledge into a tangible adaptation process. It links
risks, opportunities and adaptation strategies into the agriculture system. Basis of the
toolbox is:
• Increase of agricultural productivity & income in a sustainable way
• Strengthening of farmer’s resilience against climate change
• Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
Climate
resilience
toolbox
Target To help farmers understand how climate change impacts their crops and which mitigation
measures should be taken to tackle risks and exploit opportunities.
Key
activities
Prepare weather hazard maps for agriculture, exposure assessment
of main crops and vulnerability for potential lossesRisk analysis
Development of
operational
toolbox
Training
Capacity building of agriculture technical officer to guide farmers on
the use of the toolbox
Identification and description of sustainable and innovative
measures of climate change adaptation & mitigation

17. Main benefits
20 to
>100%
up to
90%
up to
50%
> 50%
increased yield water savings
reduced methane
production
reduced seed
input
System of Rice Intensification – SRI
SRI is a scientifically proven alternative rice growing method. It is an agro-ecological methodology to
increase yield of irrigated rice by changing the management of plants, soil, water & nutrients.
* Information & photos in this page is extracted from http://sri.cals.cornell.edu/index.html
SRI facts
• SRI has been successfully implemented in 50 countries.
• SRI methodology is a management approach and does not
require new varieties of seeds.
• Some rice varieties respond better than others.
Other benefits and challenges
+ Healthy robust plants
+ Improved soil conditions
- Increase in labor requirements e.g. weeding
- Farmer’s resistance to change

18. Product design: Making use of big data & technology
Stage 1 winner of Climate-
KIC
Semi-final of Echoing Green