The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has offices spread all over the country, runs this nation’s Forestry Service, has oversight responsibilities of the country’s farms, and the department offers various programs that allow farmers and other landowners to enter into agreements whereupon the landowners can earn income for implementing more sustainable land-use practices. Given this, it’s only natural that the USDA wants a voice in future climate change legislation—legislation that will likely give the department major oversight authority.As Hembree Brandon writes for the Delta Farm Press, Mark Nechodom, deputy director of the USDA’s Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets, “says that Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak feels ‘it’s really important that USDA lead efforts to …promote and provide clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat, and to help farmers participate in markets that will reward them for sequestering carbon and limiting greenhouse gases.’”
Nechodom, who serves as a climate science policy advisor for the USDA Forest Service, recently participated in a climate change legislation workshop at Mississippi State University where he spoke about the USDA’s potential role in any future legislation, as well as the need for legislation. According to Nechobom, of the 234 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases admitted into the atmosphere, roughly 20 billion to 30 billion metric tons are not absorbed by forests, land, or the ocean. This deficit is yearly.
In order to deal with this deficit, Congress and others are working on legislative ideas and technologies that will change what Nechobom calls a ‘“carbon pumping system,”’ so that more carbon is being absorbed from the atmosphere.
The current legislative discussions have centered on creating cap and trade carbon markets where certain farming practices and practices by private landowners could continue to reap economic benefits, but potentially on a much larger scale. Landowners could eventually have the equivalent of a diverse stock portfolio based on the types of carbon sequestration efforts the landowners undertake. There could be programs for wetlands, fish habitat, conservation measures for wildlife habitat, and sediment reduction, among other programs. ‘“What we’re looking at, and the transformation that can serve as a springboard for new markets, is bringing substantially more private capital to bear for investment in environmental improvement,’ Nechodom says.”
In order to be prepared for whatever legislation eventually comes out of Congress, Nechobom says:
‘“USDA has been working diligently with other agencies trying to determine where the content of the legislation is likely to go . . . We’re looking at potential markets and trading mechanisms, with a focus on the measurement of public goods and services that can be provided by private landowners — primarily ag lands and forestry operations — and how they might become markets from which people can get a real paycheck for providing those public services. It’s basically land-based emissions reduction, or carbon sequestration, provided by private landowners.”’Nechobom is hopeful that all stakeholders will have a seat at the table when the rules and regulations implementing any new legislation are created.
The House has already passed legislation, The Clean American Energy and Security Act (HR 2454), and as this blog has reported, the legislation is not without controversy. The Senate still has to act on climate change legislation, and there is already a power struggle brewing between two committee chairs (Senators Boxer and Baucus respectively). Additionally, political rallies and protests against the bill (similar to the current health care rallies) are being funded by the Energy Citizens coalition (a coalition that includes the American Petroleum Institute, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the National Association of Manufacturers) and are currently taking place. Finally, several Democratic senators have already raised objects to climate change legislation for fear of the impact on their constituents.
To read previous United States Agricultural and Food Law and Policy Blog posts on this subject click here.
To visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s Climate Change Reading Room, where one can find detailed information on statutes, regulations, and court action on climate change issues, click here.
To read Mr. Brandon’s article in the Delta Farm Press click here.
Posted: 08/20/09
