Gold Standard Turns Climate-Smart Rice Farming Into Verified Credits

GENEVA, December 21, 2025 — In a major milestone for climate mitigation in the agriculture sector, Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS4GG) has issued the first rice methane reduction carbon credits under its Impact Registry — marking a breakthrough for high-integrity, nature-based climate action and sustainable agriculture.

A total of 46,714 carbon credits were certified from a rice-methane reduction project in Pakistan, developed by NetZeroAg in collaboration with more than 2,000 smallholder farmers in a region highly vulnerable to climate change and recent catastrophic flooding.

The credits result from the application of Gold Standard’s Rice Alternative Wetting and Drying (AWD) Methodology, which significantly cuts emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas with a far higher global warming potential than CO₂ — by altering water management practices in rice paddies.

Rice cultivation contributes an estimated ~2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with methane from flooded paddy fields accounting for a large share of this burden. Yet rice is also a critical staple crop, feeding more than four billion people worldwide. The issuance of these credits demonstrates that climate action in food systems can be both credibly measured and socially inclusive.

“This first issuance of rice methane reduction credits is a case study of what high-integrity climate action can look like,” said Margaret Kim, CEO of Gold Standard. “The project is rooted in scientific rigour, delivering verified reductions while working with the community to address their needs and build climate resilience. This sets an important precedent for credible mitigation efforts in the agriculture sector.”

AWD Methodology Delivers Climate and Community Benefits

The Rice AWD methodology encourages farmers to temporarily drain rice paddies during the growing cycle, interrupting the anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions that produce methane. These water-management adjustments have been shown to cut emissions substantially while often improving water efficiency.

In addition to measurable greenhouse-gas reductions, the Pakistan project delivered verified contributions to eight United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, from poverty alleviation (SDG 1) and food security (SDG 2), to gender equality (SDG 5) and climate action (SDG 13).

NetZeroAg’s leadership emphasised the scalability and practicality of the approach. “The AWD methodology has been a landmark for climate-smart agriculture,” said Ali Tariq, CEO of NetZeroAg. “This project has delivered verifiable emissions reductions and will deliver real income to smallholder farmers in Pakistan. Working alongside an incredible team of more than 2,000 farmers has proven that this is a practical solution for agricultural mitigation that is scalable and globally applicable.”

Beyond climate mitigation, the project’s social impact extends to training and vocational programmes for young people and women, as well as mobile health services for local communities — a reminder that high-integrity carbon finance can support broader development outcomes.

Gold Standard anticipates further issuances from the project, with an expected total of 57,188 credits annually across the 2024 and 2025 vintages as the initiative expands to include 3,000 farmers.

The organisation has also partnered with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through the Business Partnerships Platform (2023–25) to develop resources, tools, and strategies to scale carbon finance for sustainable rice producers globally.

Implications for Carbon Markets and Climate Strategy

The issuance of Gold Standard’s first rice methane credits comes at a time when agricultural methane reduction is gaining global policy focus. Methane has a much stronger short-term warming effect than carbon dioxide, and reductions in agricultural emissions are seen as a vital component of near-term climate mitigation strategies.

Unlike some earlier carbon methodologies that were criticised for over-issuance or weak additionality, Gold Standard’s rigorous validation, verification and contribution to multiple SDGs underlines a growing emphasis on quality carbon credits that deliver measurable climate and development outcomes.

For corporations, investors and governments seeking high-integrity carbon credits to meet voluntary or compliance commitments, this milestone signals the emergence of agriculture-based mitigation as a credible, scalable option. It also helps broaden the application of carbon markets beyond energy and industrial sectors into vital food systems — where emissions are large and mitigation opportunities are increasingly quantifiable.