Vietnam-Japan strengthen ties to mobilize climate finance for low-emission rice

A workshop in Hanoi discussed Vietnam and Japan's collaboration on low-emission rice cultivation using the AWD irrigation method. This method, developed by Japan's Green Carbon Company, significantly reduces methane emissions and water usage while maintaining or improving rice yields. The project, registered under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), generates carbon credits, benefiting both countries and contributing to their climate change commitments. The success in Nghe An province shows the potential for scaling up this model nationwide, generating millions of carbon credits and boosting farmers' income while promoting sustainable agriculture.

This article discusses a workshop held in Hanoi on low-emission rice cultivation and climate finance mobilization. The workshop focused on the collaboration between Vietnam and Japan to generate carbon credits through the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) using the Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation method. This method, developed by Japan's Green Carbon Company, significantly reduces methane emissions from rice cultivation, saving water and maintaining or even improving crop yields. In Nghe An province, AWD reduced methane emissions by an average of 48% and saved 25-30% of irrigation water. The method's effectiveness has led to its expansion across 19 provinces and cities. Green Carbon is playing a key role, working directly with farmers and handling measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) to meet JCM standards. In An Giang, Green Carbon registered 116,000 hectares under the Verra standard, expecting to generate tens of millions of carbon credits from 2025-2032. The JCM, a bilateral mechanism initiated by Japan, promotes technology transfer and emission-reducing projects, sharing carbon credits between Japan and partner countries. Vietnam and Japan previously implemented 14 JCM projects (2013-2020), generating over 35,000 carbon credits. A new agreement is underway to focus on low-carbon agricultural projects, aiming to achieve shared climate goals and utilizing Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The workshop highlighted the success of the AWD method, its economic potential, and its role in achieving Vietnam's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Net-Zero target by 2050. Speakers emphasized the mutual benefits of this collaboration, strengthening climate resilience, boosting farmers' income, and promoting sustainable economic development.