Organic waste digestion and biogas projects are an emissions-reduction project type within the waste & methane segment of the carbon market. They are designed to digest organic wastes and control or use the resulting biogas instead of leaving wastes in higher-emitting systems. The carbon benefit comes from avoided methane plus controlled biogas management relative to the baseline waste pathway. Common project configurations include Organic waste digestion; manure co-digestion; industrial organics to biogas.

The best projects distinguish clearly between methane avoidance, renewable energy generation, and the downstream use of digestate. Many of these pathways focus on methane or other potent non-CO2 gases, so they can have strong near-term climate significance; at the same time, the integrity of baseline assumptions, destruction efficiency, and ongoing monitoring is especially important. For buyers and program designers, the most important diligence questions are: What is the true baseline treatment? Are methane destruction efficiencies measured? Is fossil fuel displacement credited separately or not?