Previously, methodologies approved by the CDM Executive Board were approved for use on ACR for the registration of projects in non-Annex 1 countries or for registration of projects in the U.S. after ACR review and approval of special applicability conditions. Under ACR Standard v7.0, CDM methodologies are no longer accepted for crediting new projects on ACR. Therefore, ACR’s approval of a modification to the Clean Development Mechanism’s methodology AMS II.G, Version 05.0, Energy efficiency measures in thermal applications of non-renewable biomass, is withdrawn and is ineligible for crediting projects on ACR. 

Methodology History

The methodology applies to the introduction of high-efficient thermal energy generation units utilizing non-renewable biomass, or retrofitting of existing units (e.g. complete replacement of existing biomass fired cook stoves or ovens or dryers with more-efficient appliances), to reduce use of non-renewable biomass for combustion. It falls in the CDM category Energy Efficiency: displacement or energy efficiency enhancement of existing heat generation units resulting in saving of non-renewable biomass and reduction of GHG emissions.

ACR has approved two modifications to the existing CDM methodology:

1. AMS II.G uses fossil fuel emission factors to calculate emission reductions, based on an assumed shift from non-renewable biomass to fossil fuels by households in the project area. Households are in many countries using fuelwood/charcoal in the baseline, and when they install an efficient cookstove they still use fuelwood/charcoal but less of it, leading to a reduction in use of and emissions from non-renewable biomass. To recognize this, ACR proposes replacing the fossil fuel emission factors in Equation (1) with appropriate and conservative biomass emission factors for fuelwood and charcoal, derived from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
2. When fuelwood is harvested, the below-ground root biomass is not removed, and a portion of the above-ground biomass is also not removed. The second modification introduces a new paragraph 15, with an adjustment to the parameters B_old (quantity of biomass used in the absence of the project activity) and B_new (quantity of biomass used in the project activity) to account for carbon stocks in fuelwood not harvested.

Both modifications were reviewed and approved by ACR’s independent Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Technical Committee and open for public comment by stakeholders.