Reducing Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Voluntary Action

Excerpts form remarks delivered at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Tenth Session of the Conference of Parties, U.S. Government Side Event, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 8, 2004
by Bruce I. Knight, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service

NRCS The agriculture industry is responsible for a small but significant portion of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States – about nine percent of the total.

As part of the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture has an obligation to be part of the solution. But, beyond the trade-off between problem and solution, American agriculture stands to benefit greatly from the overall commitment of our country and others to sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- regardless of the rate and timing of climate change.

Reducing Emissions / Maintaining Profitability
Agricultural systems are vulnerable to changes in growing season, precipitation, and water availability. The concerns for agriculture are best summarized as mitigating the impact of change on farmers and identifying the role of farmers in mitigating greenhouse gases.

The focus on our working lands must remain the production of food and fiber. The technologies and systems for reducing emissions or sequestering carbon must be compatible with agricultural production systems.

Climate Change Activities at USDA
Over the last 70 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed a partnership approach to conservation on agricultural lands.

When President Bush announced his Climate Change Strategy, he challenged USDA to recommend targeted incentives for greenhouse gas offsets from agriculture and forests.

The 2002 farm bill provides USDA with the authority and a record level of resources to build partnerships -- including partnerships that target greenhouse gases. The 2002 farm bill includes an increase of more than $17 billion for conservation, which opens up many more options for many more producers. The bill also places more emphasis on livestock and poultry operations, which is good news in the climate change arena.

In 2003, Secretary Veneman announced a series of actions that USDA will take to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from forests and agriculture. Coupled with the increases in overall conservation spending, these actions are expected to increase the carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions from the conservation programs by over 12 million tons of carbon equivalent in 2012.

That reduction represents approximately 12 percent of President Bush’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas intensity of the American economy by 18 percent in the next decade.

USDA is harnessing a portfolio of conservation programs to build carbon back into the soil and vegetation, integrating greenhouse gas considerations in our conservation efforts, including such programs as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Reserve Program, the Wetlands Reserve Program, the new Grassland Reserve Program (GRP), the joint USDA, Department of Energy Biomass Research and Development Initiative, Conservation Innovation Grants, the Conservation Security Program (CSP) and a variety of International Partnerships

Market-Based Solutions
Although the costs of reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions fall on the landowner, many of the benefits go to the public. So, to keep agriculture strong, we must find ways for landowners to recoup many of the costs. That means finding ways to place a value on the benefits our farmers and ranchers produce and creating a market for those benefits.

Fortunately, with growing cooperation between Federal agencies and the passage of the 2002 farm bill, we are beginning to make it more economical for domestic producers to do their job and meet regulatory requirements. Through these approaches and with a lot of hard work, we can bring economics and conservation into the proper alignment.
Your contact is Carl Lucero, NRCS global climate change activities and programs analyst, at 301-504-2222, or carl.lucero@usda.gov.