Letter on Soliciting Public Suggestions for Methodologies of Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Projects
To encourage widespread and in-depth efforts across society to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and advance the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, our department is actively promoting the establishment of a unified national market for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction. Methodologies serve as the primary basis for guiding the development, implementation, verification, and quantification of emission reductions in voluntary projects, playing a crucial role in standardizing aspects such as baseline identification, additionality assessment, emission calculation, and monitoring plan formulation. The goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality impose higher demands on the development of this market, and the existing methodology framework can no longer meet current needs. Most methodologies require updates to their baseline and additionality criteria, some lack practical value or applicable scenarios, and a few are inconsistent with industrial policy orientations. Meanwhile, innovative emission reduction technologies emerging in recent years also urgently need corresponding methodological support. To build a high-quality unified national market for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction, our department will refine the methodology system for such projects, enhancing its scientific rigor, applicability, and rationality. We are now publicly soliciting suggestions for methodologies related to these projects, with details as follows.
- Project owners, industry associations, research institutions, universities, and other enterprises that possess the technical capabilities to develop methodologies for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects may submit suggestions.
- The suggested methodologies can either be revisions of existing registered methodologies or entirely new ones. They must comply with national industrial policies, reflect trends in green and low-carbon technologies, contribute to environmental protection, support the achievement of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, and enable the avoidance or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions or the removal of such gases. The proposed methodologies and additionality requirements should be clear, actionable, easy to verify, and ensure that the emission reduction amounts from case studies are accurate, reliable, and conservative. Suggestions are encouraged for industries and fields with significant emission reduction potential, high societal interest, minimal technical disputes, reliable data quality, and dual social and ecological benefits; in such cases, additionality assessment may be waived or simplified. Suggestions cannot be made for industries and fields already subject to mandatory greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements under existing laws and regulations. III. The entities proposing methodology recommendations for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects should prepare the recommendation documents (with the official seal on the first page) and preparation notes in accordance with the relevant requirements of the “Outline for Developing Methodologies for Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Projects.” They must also attach one case study of a voluntary emission reduction project using these recommendations. The language should be concise, easy to understand, and accurate. The recommendation documents must be submitted to our department via email by April 30, 2023. IV. Our department will evaluate and select the methodology recommendations submitted by various entities. Based on China’s goals for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, we will release the best recommendations in batches and gradually update existing registered methodologies. We will continue to solicit methodology recommendations for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects as appropriate. Contacts: Hou Guanyu, Wang Yong, Cao Yu 电话：(010)65645679、65645641
General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment 2023年3月28日