Climate Change and Agriculture: Report of a Center for Rural Affairs Task Force
Submitted by Marie Powell on Mon, 03/26/2007 - 14:36.
Summary:
Report from a Center for Rural Affairs Task Force commissioned to review information on climate change and its relationship to agriculture and make recommendations about what people and government should do. Most task force members were farmers and ranchers.Climate Change and Agriculture
Report of a Center for Rural Affairs Task Force
THE NATIONAL INTEREST IN SOIL CARBON
It is irrefutable that emissions of greenhouse gases are accumulating in the atmosphere. It is also irrefutable that most scientists and many other well-informed people are concerned that this phenomenon will lead to significant climate changes, many of which will be adverse to many people and nations.
It is also clear that agriculture can play an important role in mitigating these damaging emissions, both by reducing its own emissions and by sequestering carbon. But it is also clear that the market alone will not move U.S. agriculture into its potential role as part of the solution to climate change. This move will not be fully made without some public policy changes.
FARM POLICY
Farm policy should harmonize the economic and environmental benefits of building soil carbon. To do so, the routine practice of isolating conservation practices from production programs as if they were unrelated to one another needs to end. The farm program should support the integration of conservation and production practices in whole farm plans.
We cannot emphasize enough that top management is essential to a viable whole farm plan that sequesters carbon without other adverse environmental effects and is also economically viable for the farmer.
CARBON SEQUESTRATION POLICY
Among the barriers to adoption of carbon sequestration policies are that it is difficult to measure changes in soil carbon except over a very long time and that there are many variables beyond the control of farmers that affect these changes. Improved measurement techniques can help lower these barriers, but will probably never completely eliminate them.
But barriers are not good reasons to avoid a policy that moves carbon from the atmosphere into the soil. Until carbon can be reliably measured, it is sufficient to identify and reward practices that are proven by good science to build soil carbon.
TRADING CARBON CREDIT
A policy of reducing carbon emissions presents many challenges, and reducing those emissions in the most cost-effective way is particularly important. A market in carbon credits may help address that need by putting a price on emissions in the form of payments to those who sequester carbon that offsets those emissions.
We do not believe that credits should substitute for adoption of new technology. Indeed, credits should not be viewed as the permanent solution to a problem that can only be resolved ultimately by new technologies and changes in human behavior that are economically viable, socially responsible, and anchored in a better understanding of the science of climate change.
Read the full report through the link below. For additional information, please contact either: Jon Bailey, Rural Research & Analysis Program Director Center for Rural Affairs Phone: 402/687-2100, E-mail: jonb@cfra.org or Martin Kleinschmit, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Center for Rural Affairs, PO Box 736, Hartington NE 68739-0736, Phone: 402/254.6893 E-mail: martink@cfra.org
Report of a Center for Rural Affairs Task Force
THE NATIONAL INTEREST IN SOIL CARBON
It is irrefutable that emissions of greenhouse gases are accumulating in the atmosphere. It is also irrefutable that most scientists and many other well-informed people are concerned that this phenomenon will lead to significant climate changes, many of which will be adverse to many people and nations.
It is also clear that agriculture can play an important role in mitigating these damaging emissions, both by reducing its own emissions and by sequestering carbon. But it is also clear that the market alone will not move U.S. agriculture into its potential role as part of the solution to climate change. This move will not be fully made without some public policy changes.
FARM POLICY
Farm policy should harmonize the economic and environmental benefits of building soil carbon. To do so, the routine practice of isolating conservation practices from production programs as if they were unrelated to one another needs to end. The farm program should support the integration of conservation and production practices in whole farm plans.
We cannot emphasize enough that top management is essential to a viable whole farm plan that sequesters carbon without other adverse environmental effects and is also economically viable for the farmer.
CARBON SEQUESTRATION POLICY
Among the barriers to adoption of carbon sequestration policies are that it is difficult to measure changes in soil carbon except over a very long time and that there are many variables beyond the control of farmers that affect these changes. Improved measurement techniques can help lower these barriers, but will probably never completely eliminate them.
But barriers are not good reasons to avoid a policy that moves carbon from the atmosphere into the soil. Until carbon can be reliably measured, it is sufficient to identify and reward practices that are proven by good science to build soil carbon.
TRADING CARBON CREDIT
A policy of reducing carbon emissions presents many challenges, and reducing those emissions in the most cost-effective way is particularly important. A market in carbon credits may help address that need by putting a price on emissions in the form of payments to those who sequester carbon that offsets those emissions.
We do not believe that credits should substitute for adoption of new technology. Indeed, credits should not be viewed as the permanent solution to a problem that can only be resolved ultimately by new technologies and changes in human behavior that are economically viable, socially responsible, and anchored in a better understanding of the science of climate change.
Read the full report through the link below. For additional information, please contact either: Jon Bailey, Rural Research & Analysis Program Director Center for Rural Affairs Phone: 402/687-2100, E-mail: jonb@cfra.org or Martin Kleinschmit, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Center for Rural Affairs, PO Box 736, Hartington NE 68739-0736, Phone: 402/254.6893 E-mail: martink@cfra.org
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Climate_Change_and_Agriculture_Report.pdf | 120.45 KB |
