“Rural Household Biogas Pit Project in Enshi Perfecture, Hubei” hosted by Dr. DONG Hong-min and Professor LI Yu-e from the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, CAAS was recently approved by the United Nations as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Project. The proposed new methodology-AMS III-R/Ver.1, new methane recollection methods in agricultural activities conducted by rural households and small farms is accredited by the UN CDM Executive Board. This is the first CDM project developed with the new methodology proposed by Chinese experts. It is estimated that the project will create 60 million yuan of direct economic returns for 33,000 rural household in Enshi for the next ten years. 

According to the Kyoto Protocol, CDM is a market mechanism allowing industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex B countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. The methodology adopted by a CDM project has to be accredited by the UN CDM Executive Board before the legal arrival of financial and technical support from the industrialized countries.