RENEWABLE ENERGY
Projects such as wind farms and hydro electric power stations are good emissions reduction projects. These projects generate carbon offsets based on the amount of “dirty” power capacity they replace. Developing countries such as China and India are building hundreds of new “dirty” coal fire power plants each year to fuel their economic growth. These plants emit millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Renewable energy projects reduce the need for these power plants and thus reduce emissions. Unfortunately, renewable power is much more expensive to produce than “dirty” power which is why these projects must sell carbon offsets to finance their development.

METHANE FLARING
Methane gas is a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more harmful than CO2. Methane is emitted from places like landfills and coal mines. The methane can be prevented from entering the atmosphere by collecting the gas in pipes and then flaring (destroying) the gas before it enters the atmosphere.

Methane gas is useful as well. It can be used just like natural gas in power generators to produce electricity. This process has been done for years in developed countries including the United States, where the high power prices can make these projects profitable without carbon offsets.

In developing countries, such as Asia and Central and South America, millions of tons of methane are emitted from these sites. The revenue from carbon offsets makes it possible to apply western technology to these sites and prevent this harmful gas from entering the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.

PROJECTS
Green Piggy purchases our offsets from the following high quality emissions reduction projects:


Landfill Gas Generation Projects:

Hydro Projects:

PROJECT VERIFICATION
Green Piggy offsets are verified by professional service companies called Designated Operation Entities or DOEs. DOEs are charted under the Kyoto Protocol to verify the emission reductions that are created by the projects. The DOEs monitor and measure the operations of each project and then certify the results.

The purpose of a validation is to have an independent third party assess the project design. In particular, the project's baseline, the Monitoring Plan (MP), and the project’s compliance with relevant UNFCCC and host Party criteria shall be validated in order to confirm that the project design as documented is sound and reasonable.

ACCURACY
Accuracy is the relative measure of the exactness of performance indicators. This should enable performance indicators and emission reduction estimates to be calculated as accurately as possible, i.e. by use of statistical techniques in order to reduce uncertainties and arrive at confident numbers for emission reductions.

COMPLETENESS
The project documentation and the scope of validation/verification should cover all relevant greenhouse gases, sources and sinks, – if affected by the project activities. It should also include other indicators, e.g. leakage effects or project effects beyond the chosen project boundaries, as appropriate.

COMPARABILITY
Methods for estimation of emissions [and removals] should be comparable between the project baseline(s) and the project. This should enable comparison of the project with the relevant baseline scenario(s) and subsequent determination of the selected baseline's applicability.

CONSISTENCY
The project documents should address comparable key indicators that enable consistent review of project performance over time. To the extent possible, the methodologies and measurements identified in the baseline methodology should also be addressed and made verifiable via the Monitoring Plan.

RELIABILITY
For the estimation of emission reductions from the project the most realistic and likely operational characteristics and most likely development relevant to the project shall be chosen as reference for projected emissions and baseline.

VALIDITY
For the estimation of emission reductions from the project it is crucial that factors or indicators used for baseline determination and the use of operational characteristics give opportunity for real measurements of achieved emission reductions. The baseline and operational characteristics used in the project documentation shall therefore be based on factors or indicators that provide a plausible picture of what would otherwise occur.

Source: www.ieta.org

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