The Green Carbon project is focused on creating smallholder farmer biochar projects in the global South to reduce methane emissions and utilize wasted biomass. The team uses low-tech solutions, such as consecutive kilns, to produce biochar and apply it to soil for crop yield increases. They emphasize impact-driven projects, biodiversity promotion, and empowering women throughout the production chain. The speaker discusses the importance of improvement in MRV processes, transparency, and market standards. They hope to create a database for crop yields in the global South and quantify co-benefits of biochar and manure application. The potential for carbon credits is noted, with an aiming price of $125 per credit, and the hope for long-term uptake agreements to achieve carbon removal.
00:00:00 In this section of the webinar, the Dutch team behind the Green Carbon project discuss their journey towards creating smallholder farmer biochar projects in the global South, where there is currently a lot of biomass being wasted. While high tech solutions are useful for efficient biomass use, developing low tech projects has become a priority for common removal in areas with limited access to resources and infrastructure. The team explains their use of a consecutive kiln, a low tech approach to burning biomass that protects it from oxygen and carbonizes the material, producing biochar as a valuable carbon storage instead of ash.
00:05:00 In this section, the speaker discusses a project that started in Odisha, India, with the goal of reducing methane emissions caused by open-field burning. The project involves producing biochar from biomass such as rice straw, corn cobs, and bamboo, and training farmers to do so in order to maintain the quality of the project. The biochar is then applied to the soil via manual application, with a 50/50 matrix of biochar and manure. The project has the potential to work with 120,000 farmers across all regions, producing 1.2 million tons of biochar and removing around 2 million tons of CO2. Future data will be collected to determine if different waste streams such as corn cobs produce different results.
00:10:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the benefits of biochar, particularly the quantitative crop yield increase found in meta analysis conducted in the global South. The speaker also discusses their Digital mrv model for tracking biochar production and their focus on impact-driven projects rather than solely on carbon removal quantification. Additionally, the speaker highlights the importance of addressing global inequality in the fight against climate change and their efforts to empower women throughout the chain of biochar production.
00:15:00 In this section of the webinar, the speaker discusses the potential use of biochar to promote biodiversity in regions with mono-culture agriculture such as in Odisha, India. The farmers in India produce the biochar and use a mobile application to receive feedback and certification. The speaker advises those looking to develop similar projects to carefully consider the baseline scenario of the biomass stream to avoid competition, and to ensure financial additionality. They also address concerns about justifying decentralized production and reducing methane emissions, and emphasize the importance of transparency and permanence in biochar specs and data.
00:20:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of improving procedures to ensure a better biomass selection and a more accurate MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) process, which includes the use of technology to provide non-methane emissions. The four key pillars of quantification, additionality, long-term storage, and sustainability are emphasized, with the need for a better system with market standards and transparency. The speaker notes the uncertainty in the voluntary carbon credit market but sees a shift towards more durable and transparent projects, with new types of trading, such as auctions and blockchain-based markets. To promote further development of their projects, the speaker encourages people to invest in their common credits and contribute ideas and technology to improve the MRV process.
00:25:00 In this section of the webinar, the speaker discusses the feedstocks used for the global staff and the mixture of biochar and manure. The speaker mentions that it is not a 100% guarantee that farmers use a 50/50 mix of biochar and manure, but enriching the soil is the most important step. The speaker hopes to quantify the co-benefits of the biochar and manure application and add it to their mrv model, as well as create a database for crop yields in the global south. The carbon content differs for biomass waste stream, and lab testing is done periodically to maintain accuracy; however, farmers have welcomed the extra work managing time commitments and new activities.
00:30:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the potential for carbon credits in smallholder farmer biochar projects. They explain that converting one ton of rice straw to biochar could yield approximately 1.75 carbon credits, with an aiming price of $125 per credit. The speaker notes that while the cost structure changes with higher volumes, the approach differs from centralized biochar production. They also discuss the option of bundling certificates or finding a big off-taker versus focusing on step-by-step progress with multiple buyers. Ultimately, the speaker hopes to find long-term uptake agreements to achieve real carbon removal.
