GHG & Co-Benefits in Watershed Carbon v1.0

Ecosystem Focus: Wetlands

Overview

Credit Class: GHG & Co-Benefits in Watershed Carbon v1.0

Developer: Virridy

Abstract:

This Credit Class can be used by Project Proponents to generate carbon credits by reducing nonpoint source contamination of watersheds, thereby avoiding the increased greenhouse gas emissions from the status-quo infrastructure construction and electricity use associated with industrial drinking water and wastewater management and treatment.

Under this Credit Class, the anticipated carbon revenues provide the additional required incentive to motivate greater installation of nature-based solutions, reducing both performance and regulatory risk, and being credited upon demonstration of implementation success and subsequent avoidance of gray infrastructure construction requirements.

Carbon Emissions Avoided: Avoided future CO2e emissions calculated by quantifying the multi-year energy and material use from:

  1. reducing the use of existing infrastructure,

  2. eliminating the need for new infrastructure, and/or

  3. eliminating the need for upgrades or retrofits.

For energy this would be the corresponding energy savings multiplied by the average grams or tons CO2e that exists and is projected to exist in the regional electricity grid for the life of the projected upgrade. For materials this would be the material-specific life cycle inventory data for CO2e emissions.

Final Version - Published January 18, 2024


Additional supporting documents and articles by the authors of this credit class:

Document History:

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