Ecosystem Focus: Wetlands
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:
- reducing the use of existing infrastructure,
- eliminating the need for new infrastructure, and/or
- 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
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Regen Watershed Credit Class.docx.pdf" %}
Additional supporting documents and articles by the authors of this credit class:
- Research Square Pre-print Article: Greening America's Rivers: The Potential of Climate Financing for Nature-Based Water Quality Improvement. Evan Thomas, Braden Limb, Jason Quinn, Alex Johnson, Rob Sowby, Zia Mehrabi. December 8, 2023.
- Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resliience. University of Colorado Boulder. Decarbonizing Water: State Trends and Opportunities to Apply the Voluntary Carbon Market Toward Global Water Security. Evan Thomas PhD, Christina Barstow PhD, Laura MacDonald PhD, John, Ecklum Katie Frankhauser, Alex Johnson
- Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience University of Colorado Boulder. Greening America’s Rivers: The Potential of Climate Financing for Nature-Based Water Quality Improvement. Braden Limb, Jason Quinn, Alex Johnson, Robert B. Sowby, Zia Mehrabi, Evan Thomas. August 10, 2023.
{% tabs %} {% tab title="Initial Submission/Review" %} {% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Virridy Methodology & Credit Class (Submitted June 6, 2023).docx.pdf" %}
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Virridy Credit Class Internal Comments_June 2023.pdf" %}
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Virridy_Intial Submission_Comments highlighted.pdf" %}
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Virridy_Comment Revision Report_June 2023.pdf" %}
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Regen Registry Additional Internal Review Round 1_SB_July, 2023.pdf" %}
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Internal Review 2" %} {% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Virridy Watershed Credit Class_July 12, 2023.pdf" %}
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Virridy_Credit Class Internal Comments_July 2023.pdf" %}
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Expert Peer Review 1" %} Reviewer #1
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Reviewer #1_Credit Class Comment Revision Report_w Virridy Responses.pdf" %}
Reviewer #2
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Reviewer #2_Credit Class Comment Revision Report w Virridy Response.pdf" %}
Reviewer #3
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Reviewer #3_Credit Class Revision Report.pdf" %}
UPDATED DOCUMENTS AFTER ROUND 1
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Credit Class Redline_Post Round 1.pdf" %}
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Regen Watershed Credit Class Post Peer Review.pdf" %}
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Expert Peer Review 2" %} Reviewer #1
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Reviewer #1_Second Round_Credit Class Comment Revision Report_w Virridy Responses.pdf" %}
Reviewer #2
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Reviewer #2_Round 2_Credit Class Comment Revision Report w Virridy Response.pdf" %}
Reviewer #3
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Reviewer #3_Round 2_Credit Class Revision Report.pdf" %}
PUBLIC COMMENT REVISION REPORT
{% file src="../.gitbook/assets/Virridy_Public Comment Revision Report_Jan 2024.pdf" %}
{% endtab %} {% endtabs %}