IRRI and partners convene global multi-stakeholder workshop to streamline GHG measurement and modelling methodologies in rice systems
Over 70 international experts will come together to align measurement methods, share compatible data, and improve tools and models for tracking greenhouse gas emissions in rice systems, informing and strengthening climate action and sustainability in global rice production.
LOS BAÑOS, Philippines (26 August 2025) – The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Global Methane Hub, in collaboration with Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Columbia University, and the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) will be steering a five-day workshop to strengthen the scientific foundation for greenhouse gas emissions evaluation and climate mitigation strategies in rice-based food systems across the globe. This initiative will aim to accelerate progress toward more sustainable, commercially viable, climate-smart, and low-emission rice production.
Titled “Greenhouse Gases Flux and Modelling from Rice Workshop," the event will be held from 1–5 September 2025 at IRRI Headquarters in the Philippines. The workshop will bring together leading scientists, technical experts, and policymakers, promoting collaboration and integration among GHG emissions researchers, rice crop modelers, and spatial and remote sensing scientists, as well as enable learning and best practices across disciplines, organizations, and countries.
Rice cultivation and GHG emissions
Rice production is vital to global food security, feeding more than half of the world’s human population. But it also contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly methane (CH4), which is responsible for roughly 45% of recent net global warming. Because of its short-lived nature in the atmosphere, reducing methane emissions can have a strong near-term effect on slowing temperature rise.
Current global CH4 inventories suffer from uncertainties as high as ±30% for some agricultural sectors, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These uncertainties may hinder the ability of countries to track progress toward their climate goals, design targeted mitigation strategies, and access emerging carbon markets.
In rice systems, methane emissions are most often measured using the closed flux chamber method. This relatively low-cost and widely used approach captures air samples from chambers placed in the field, which are then analyzed for GHG concentrations. However, chamber-based data vary widely due to differences in equipment design and deployment techniques.
Adding to the challenge, the scientific community uses different equations and computational methods to estimate GHG fluxes from chamber data. For example, linear and non-linear approaches can produce substantially different results, and each comes with trade-offs between accuracy (closeness to the true value) and precision (repeatability).
These inconsistencies undermine the comparability of data across studies, regions, and countries. This not only weakens the scientific basis for climate mitigation strategies but also creates barriers for carbon credit verification and national GHG inventory reporting.
Improving GHG measurement, enhancing modelling protocols
The workshop will cover a range of topics, including best practices for the chamber method, guidance on flux computation, approaches to data harmonization, and model intercomparison to assess and enhance the performance of CH₄-capable rice models. It will also explore modeling applications for scaling measurements from field to national levels, along with the assessment of co-benefits and trade-offs between mitigation interventions and adaptation strategies across different scales.
The modelling component of the project will build on the global AgMIP protocols and approaches and will establish a first-of-its-kind community of practice linking measurement scientists, modelers, practitioners, and policymakers. AgMIP has advanced protocols for analyzing agricultural systems using a wide range of models (including more than 12 rice models) and has developed and implemented Regional Integrated Assessments (RIA) across multiple countries in Africa and Asia. RIA is a stakeholder-driven framework aimed at projecting and tracking the complex chain of climate change impacts and responses of agricultural systems by linking climate, crop/livestock and economic data and models. AgMIP has pioneered the development of Representative Agricultural Pathways (RAPs) to envision the future of agricultural systems, as well as major advances in the use of ensemble modeling to understand and manage uncertainty.
“This workshop will be a turning point for methane research in rice,” said Dr. Ando Radanielson, workshop lead and IRRI Senior Scientist for Environment and Climate Change. “Accurate data is essential for climate policy, national greenhouse gas inventories, and enabling the development of and testing of effective strategies. By documenting, sharing, and co-reviewing how we measure and model emissions, we are building the foundation for credible climate action in one of the world’s most important food systems.”
”AgMIP has been advancing multi-scale assessments of agricultural systems, from field-level measurements to regional evaluations, under diverse management and climate scenarios,” said NARO Executive Scientist Dr. Toshihiro Hasegawa. “We are excited to collaborate with the GHG Flux Group, whose global data on GHG emissions and rice production offers a valuable foundation for co-creating policy-relevant, quantitative insights. This workshop marks a unique opportunity to initiate practical collaboration toward sustainable rice production with minimal environmental impact.”
Speaking on the importance of this workshop, the agriculture program director at the Global Methane Hub, Hayden Montgomery, had the following to say, “As strategic conveners for coordinated global methane action in the agriculture sector, the Global Methane Hub recognizes the centrality of efficient and standardized emission monitoring methodologies to generating accurate locally relevant data for effective climate action and accountability. This workshop, which firmly sits within our strategic pillar of improving measurement and accountability couldn’t have been organized at a more opportune time, where there is an urgent need for clarity in the ways we monitor agricultural emissions, and we are proud to be supporters of this workshop.”
Building expertise and consensus on best practices
The workshop will bring together over 70 participants from 40 organizations across 20 countries. Organizers of the workshop comprise key scientists and experts from leading organizations, including Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig, Climatologist, AgMIP and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Dr. Toshihiro Hasegawa, Executive Scientist, NARO Japan; Dr. Kazunori Minamikawa, Senior Researcher, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS); Mr. Erik Mencos, Senior Research Associate, AgMIP and Columbia University; and Dr. Roberto Valdivia, Associate Professor, AgMIP and Oregon State University. Organizers from host institute IRRI include Dr. Radanielson; Dr. Bjoern Ole Sander, Senior Scientist for Climate Change; and Dr. Tao Li, Senior Scientist for Environment/Crop Modelling.
The workshop is expected to deliver a series of tangible outputs that will have lasting benefits for climate action in rice systems. Key deliverables include a standardized chamber method protocol for measuring GHG emissions in rice fields; a flux computation guidance document detailing best-practice calculation methods; and a harmonized, open-access dataset of CH4 flux measurements complete with standardized metadata. Participants will also produce a protocol for model intercomparison assessing the performance of CH4-capable rice models against observed data, as well as develop simplified methane simulation methods to make the IPCC’s Tier 3 inventory approach accessible.
Important outcomes are: (1) develop more accurate and consistent methane measurements and modelling, (2) strengthen capacity of participating countries for national GHG reporting to the UNFCCC, and (3) improve access to carbon markets through verifiable CO2eq emissions data. The harmonized dataset will also serve as a valuable global resource for model calibration, emission factor refinement, and climate impact assessments.
“Standardized methods are the foundation for credible climate action and access to emerging carbon finance opportunities,” said Dr. Radanielson. “By fostering international collaboration and establishing a community of practice platform under the AgMIP framework, the workshop will create a first-of-its-kind community of practice of measurement scientists, modelers, and spatial and remote sensing experts that will advance science and support countries and farmers adopt climate-smart practices that reduce emissions while safeguarding rice productivity and resilience.”
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