The Climate Action Reserve (Reserve) is developing an agriculture sector Nitrogen Management Project Protocol (NMPP) to provide guidance on how to quantify, monitor, and verify greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from changes in nitrogen fertilizer management on agricultural lands.

Agriculture Protocols Overview

Science Advisory Committee

The Reserve together with the Nicholas Institute of Duke University assembled a group of leading scientific experts to form a Science Advisory Committee (SAC). The purpose of the SAC is to help the Reserve interpret and apply the best available science into the NMPP. Committee membership was by invitation from the Reserve and the Nicholas Institute and was based on scientific expertise, knowledge of GHG offset protocol development issues, and explicit interest in translating research into GHG mitigation policy applications for agriculture.

The Reserve previously held an all-day workshop for the SAC on September 7, 2011 and the summary report is available below.

• SAC Meeting Summary (November 22, 2011)

Workgroup

The Reserve is working closely with a multi-stakeholder workgroup to develop the Nitrogen Management Project Protocol. The workgroup includes industry representatives, federal agency personnel, environmental organizations, verifiers and expert consultants. The workgroup includes representatives from:

Ag Refresh	Scotia Capital, Inc.
Blue Source	Stanford Law School
Camco	UC Davis
The Clark Group, LLC / Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group	UC Davis, Agricultural Sustainability Institute
Environmental Defense Fund	Union of Concerned Scientists
Environmental Services, Inc.	U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, West National Technology Support Center
Independent Scientist, Ecosystem Modeling	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Michigan State University	Western Growers Association
Natural Resources Defense Council	Western United Dairymen
Preferred Carbon Group

Workgroup Meetings

Workgroup meetings are open to the public. Interested stakeholders can join the workgroup calls as an “observer” and listen to the workgroup discuss important issues for protocol development. Observers will not have the ability to participate in calls but will be able to stay informed by listening to the conversations as they unfold. If you are planning to participate as an observer and would like to receive workgroup meeting notices, send a message to policy@climateactionreserve.org. Workgroup meeting dates will also be posted below, as soon as they are scheduled.

Workgroup Meeting 6
January 25, 2012
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

Workgroup Meeting 5
November 10, 2011
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

Workgroup Meeting 4
October 25, 2011
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

In-Person Workgroup Meeting: Los Angeles
August 1, 2011
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

Nitrogen Management Project Protocol Version 1.0 Workgroup Draft (July 27, 2011)

Please note: This draft is not for public comment. It is a working draft for protocol workgroup discussions. Public comment on the draft protocol will take place later this year and all stakeholders will be notified at that time.

Workgroup Meeting 2
June 27, 2011
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

Kick-Off Meeting
May 18, 2011
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

Credit Stacking Subcommittee

The Reserve has also formed a Credit Stacking Subcommittee to help inform policies to evaluate project sites where multiple ecosystem service credits or payments may be available. This subcommittee is made up of workgroup members and invited experts. Subcommittee meetings will also be open to the public.

Credit Stacking Subcommittee Meeting 3
September 22, 2011
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

Credit Stacking Subcommittee Meeting 2
August 10, 2011
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

Credit Stacking Subcommittee Kick-off Meeting
July 12, 2011
Agenda
Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video
Credit Stacking Kick-off Meeting Memo

Background Resources

Documents that generally support development of the Nitrogen Management Project Protocol are posted below. Documents that support specific workgroup meetings are posted under the respective meeting dates above, as they become available. Immediately below there is a link to information about the agriculture protocols scoping process, including background resources and presentation slides from the scoping meeting.

• Background Paper: Quantification of Emission Reductions (December 22, 2011)
• Background Paper: Methodology Synthesis for Nitrogen Management (May 6, 2011)

If you have questions about the Nitrogen Management protocol development process, please contact Policy at policy@climateactionreserve.org.