Patent ID: 7974853

Claim:
A computer-based method for generating standardized emission reduction credits, comprising: receiving site-specific data with respect to a geographic location, regarding at least one variable impacting reduction of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere, wherein the at least one variable comprises site-specific land use practices; retrieving data, general to a geographic region encompassing the location, regarding at least one variable impacting said nitrous oxide, wherein the at least one variable comprises regional historical land use practices and the regional historical land use practice data is used to supplement or substitute for site-specific land use practice data that is unavailable; processing the site-specific data regarding the location and the data general to the geographic region encompassing the location, through a model running on a computer, to determine a change in impact on said nitrous oxide at the location over a specified time period; conducting an uncertainty analysis on the change at the location over the specified time period, by the computer, to quantify a relative level of uncertainty of the change at the location over the specified time period, wherein the uncertainty analysis includes evaluating acceptability of the received site-specific land use practice data by utilizing the general regional historical land use practice data; from the uncertainty analysis conducted by the computer, identifying, using the quantified relative level of uncertainty to identify a quantity of emission reduction credits that do not qualify as standardized emission reduction credits and cannot be traded as such, a quantity of emission reduction credits that qualify as the standardized emission reduction credits for trading; and reporting from the computer the identified quantity of the standardized emission reduction credits.