On December 17, 2025, Gold Standard (GS) announced a major milestone in the voluntary carbon market: the issuance of its first-ever rice methane reduction credits under the Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS4GG) registry.
This first issuance is significant not only because rice is a global staple food and a major source of methane emissions, but also because agricultural credits particularly those linked to rice cultivation have faced increasing scrutiny over credibility in recent years.
Gold Standard’s move signals a new phase for rice methane mitigation, one in which more robust methodologies and stronger monitoring requirements aim to translate climate-smart farming into verified and tradable climate outcomes.
Most of the world’s rice is cultivated in flooded paddy fields. When soils remain continuously submerged, oxygen levels drop, creating anaerobic conditions in which microorganisms break down organic matter and release methane (CH₄).
Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas, especially over short time horizons, making its reduction one of the fastest ways to slow near-term global warming.
Rice cultivation is therefore a particularly promising mitigation target as relatively small adjustments in water management can significantly reduce methane emissions without changing the fundamental purpose of the land: producing food.
What are Rice Methane Reduction Credits?
A carbon credit represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) reduced or removed compared to a baseline without intervention. In rice systems, these credits usually reflect “avoided emissions”, achieved by changing cultivation practices – most importantly water management – to reduce methane emissions from fields compared to conventional flooding.
Reductions are quantified using approved methodologies, independently verified, and issued as credits for purchase. Buyers are typically companies seeking to offset emissions beyond their value chains or complement Scope 3 strategies, depending on accounting frameworks.
Gold Standard recently issued 46,714 carbon credits under its Rice Alternative Wetting and Drying (AWD) Methodology. The credits came from a project in Pakistan developed by NetZeroAg, involving over 2,000 smallholder farmers in a climate-vulnerable region recovering from severe flooding. Annual issuances are projected to reach about 57,188 credits in 2024–2025, with the project expanding to roughly 3,000 farmers.
For beginners, the key point is clear: rice methane reduction has moved from theory to practice, generating verified carbon credits at a meaningful scale and demonstrating the potential of sustainable agriculture to contribute to climate mitigation.
The Core Practice: Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD)
Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) is a rice field water management technique in which fields are periodically drained rather than kept permanently flooded. This cycle reduces anaerobic conditions that produce methane, lowering emissions and often saving water.
Gold Standard highlights AWD as a method to cut methane while generating community-level benefits and recognizes it as a practical, scalable climate-smart practice when properly implemented and monitored.
In July 2023, Gold Standard published its rice methane methodology, Methane Emission Reduction by Adjusted Water Management Practice in Rice Cultivation.
The methodology aligns with the 2019 IPCC guidelines, applies across project scales, and includes safeguards and enhanced monitoring requirements. It allows AWD alongside other practices, such as alternative water regimes, aerobic rice cultivation, and switching from transplanted to direct-seeded rice (DSR).
A central concept is additionality: credits are issued only for reductions that would not occur without the project. Projects must demonstrate regulatory surplus, ensuring practices are not legally required.
The methodology also strengthens monitoring, providing clear guidance on methane measurement and safeguards to prevent misuse of simplified assumptions, supporting credibility and environmental integrity.
AWD Concept
Scrutiny of Rice Methane Credits and the Importance of MRV
Rice methane credits have faced growing scrutiny. In August 2024, Verra, a major carbon standard, began invalidating numerous rice methane projects over concerns about additionality, baseline setting, and monitoring practices.
Analysts noted that rice credits had become a significant portion of agricultural credits in the voluntary carbon market and weaknesses in MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) risked substantial over-crediting.
In this context, Gold Standard has framed its first rice methane issuance as a high-integrity case study in agricultural mitigation. Methane emissions from rice vary widely with soil type, organic inputs, water depth, rice variety, climate, and farmer practices.
Consequently, the credibility of rice methane credits hinges on whether projects can consistently show that farmers changed practices and achieved measurable methane reductions, rather than on broad claims of climate-smart agriculture.
Gold Standard’s methodology emphasises improved monitoring and safeguards to address these challenges. For beginners, the key takeaway is that rice methane credit quality depends on rigorous baselines, credible additionality and strong MRV systems, not merely the adoption of a single farming technique.
Linking Methane Reduction to Sustainable Development
Gold Standard has long highlighted the link between climate mitigation and sustainable development. In December 2025, it reported that its Pakistan rice project contributed to eight UN Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty reduction, food security, health, education, clean water, decent work, responsible consumption and climate action.
Complementary activities included farmer training, vocational skills development for women and youth and mobile health services for women and children.
These co-benefits are crucial for long-term adoption. Farmers who see tangible improvements in income, water security and resilience are more likely to sustain new practices beyond the crediting period.
For corporate buyers, the issuance shows that rice methane mitigation can deliver verified, near-term climate benefits. For developers, it illustrates a clear pathway from methodology development to credit issuance, emphasising robust field-level systems.
For policymakers and donors, it demonstrates that carbon finance can support smallholder farmers in climate-vulnerable regions, while still requiring public investment in irrigation, extension services, and adaptation.
Gold Standard anticipates further issuances as the project expands its farmer base. The next challenge is responsible scaling: ensuring additionality, robust monitoring, transparency and market incentives that genuinely benefit farmers.
The 2024 rice credit controversy (Verra) highlights the fragility of credibility in the voluntary carbon market. Rice methane reduction holds enormous near-term mitigation potential – but only if standards, auditors and developers strengthen evidence, openly address uncertainty and maintain transparency.
Gold Standard’s first issuance is a starting point, demonstrating that rice methane mitigation can operate under a rigorous framework while delivering real benefits. It sets expectations for future projects to balance scientific integrity, transparency, and tangible outcomes for farming communities.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at khanwaseem@upm.edu.my.
