St25.02

{ As prepared for delivery}

by

Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jim Moseley

Climate Change Workshop

Department of Energy

Washington, D.C. B November 18, 2002

Thanks very much, Bob.

“My thanks to Bob Card and the Department of Energy for hosting this session and taking the lead in an open process that will strengthen the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases.

“We’re very pleased to work with all of you. Our experts will attend each of the four meetings, ready to listen and answer questions, as we develop guidelines that do the job for forestry and agriculture.

“My appreciation to everyone here today. This is a strong collaboration, among federal agencies and with stakeholders.

“Your thoughts are what this is about. We welcome your comments and participation. It’s important to us to know what you have to say.

“On the face of it, this issue is administrative -- about accounting, reporting, rules and guidelines.

“USDA is as committed as every other agency represented at this table to getting the technicalities right.

“ But we’re committed because this registry is so important to getting some bigger things right, too ... like moving forward on many fronts to do America’s part to address climate change ... to protect the environment for future generations ... and to do all that in the framework of innovative, market-based stewardship.

“The concept of crediting greenhouse gas offsets fits right in with USDA’s portfolio approach to conservation, and parallels our voluntary, incentive-based programs.

“Last February, when President Bush announced the Global Climate Change Initiative, he said Awe will look for ways to increase the amount of carbon stored by America’s farms and forests through a strong conservation title in the farm bill.”

“Last May, we got that strong conservation title.

“In fact, the 2002 Farm Bill is the largest commitment of resources to conservation on private lands in the nation’s history and strengthens programs that will have greenhouse gas benefits.

“And there’s a clear role here for the private sector as well, opportunities for industry to partner with farmers to address greenhouse gas emissions.

‘As an Indiana hog producer, I want to caution that we’ll need to manage expectations in the farm community. It’s important to be realistic about offsets. The demand for greenhouse gas offsets, especially early on, is likely to be modest.

“Prices paid for reduction credits may be low. On their own, the demand for these offsets won’t have a dramatic effect on the landscape.

“Only in a few cases, such as converting bottom lands in the Mississippi Delta to hardwoods, are companies stepping in with financing solely for the greenhouse gas offsets.

“Realistically, agriculture and forestry offset projects will work best as part of a portfolio with multiple benefits to the environment.

“Look at the anaerobic digester as an example. Credits from methane reduction benefits, on their own, may not support an investment in this technology. But combine those credits with other benefits B like public goals for water quality, odor and air pollutants B and the whole package may well support applying the technology on a larger scale.

“And now that we’ve built the concept, we need to build confidence.

“Companies are understandably reluctant to participate without reliable estimates of the benefits of land management practices.

“Our charge is to take down the barrier of doubt, confusion, and uncertainty.

“In fact, President Bush has said that Aour government will ... move forward ... to create world-class standards for measuring and registering emission reductions”

“To realize the heart of the President’s plan -- transferable credits -- we need a first-class reporting system that’s clear, consistent, and credible.

“The greenhouse gas registry, after all, will be the marketplace, where companies looking for low-cost offsets will get reduction credits from farmers and others who have met the registry’s criteria.

“The way we see it, for this crediting system to work, the reporting guidelines must be straightforward and practical.

“They must be simple enough to use, offer technical support to make sure they’re adopted, and generate confidence in the reported actions.

“ USDA will host two meetings in January as we develop guidelines for agriculture and forestry offsets that will stand behind the accuracy of the registry.

We recognize as we move forward that there are many open questions. This is as it should be.

“How do we best build partnerships with the private sector and accommodate new private demands for specific environmental services?

“Greenhouse gas reductions can run the gamut of agriculture’s conservation activities. Where will they fit in the context of the many pressing environmental demands on USDA resources?

“How do we consider the roles for public versus private incentives?

“We don’t have all the answers – that’s where you come in. But we’re underway.

“Important decisions will be made in the next year, decisions based on partnership and the best of federal-private cooperation, and I thank you for being part of this process.

(For additional information, please see http://www.usda.gov/oce/gcpo/index.htm.)

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