Ag Policy Blog: Growing Climate Solutions Act Returns with Bi-Partisan Backing

April 21, 2021

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by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) The U.S. Senate is ready to move ahead with an agricultural climate bill that has bipartisan support and backing from major agricultural lobbies. The Growing Climate Solutions Act was reintroduced Tuesday in the U.S. Senate with a larger bi-partisan group of senators, led by members of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Senators signed on to the bill include 17 Democrats and 17 Republicans. The chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee jointly announced they will markup the bill in a committee meeting on Thursday.

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More than 60 agricultural groups and at least some environmental organizations also back the bill.

The Growing Climate Solutions Act, which also was introduced last year, would create a certification program at USDA to provide technical assistance for farmers and forest owners to enroll in a carbon-credit market. USDA would also establish protocols for carbon markets as well. USDA would provide guidelines to farmers as well for how to qualify for carbon-credit programs. The carbon-credit program would then become “USDA certified.”

The legislation comes as an array of companies have started enrolling farmers in carbon sequestration programs to quantify and pay for farming practices that minimize tillage and increase organic matter in the soil. Other programs help farmers to reduce their inputs, lowering their farm's carbon footprints in the process.

DTN coverage, “Emerging Carbon Markets Get Attention” https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2021/03/23/policy-market-diving-carbon

The difference between last year's bill and this year's is a change in the advisory committee USDA will set up so that farmers and ranchers make up a majority of members. The bill also would include $4 million in start-up funds, Stabenow (Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee) said. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., who helped reintroduce the bill, had pushed for changes in the advisory committee.

Iowa Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst also issued a joint statement backing introduction of the legislation.

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Elizabeth Gore, senior vice president of political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the bill “is the first major piece of bipartisan legislation to help ensure farmers, ranchers and foresters benefit from reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resilience. Agriculture has a great opportunity to measurably contribute to climate solutions, from cutting emissions of nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide, to storing carbon. EDF commends the bill's co-sponsors for seeing this potential and paving the way for farmers to be part of the solution.”

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Rob Larew, president of NFU, said that a patchwork of carbon markets has sprung to incentivize carbon sequestration but "there is currently no formal oversight of these markets or uniformity among them for criteria, payment rates, or measurement, which can make selecting the right one a confusing and overwhelming process. By creating a certification program, the Growing Climate Solutions Act would bring much-needed clarity and certainty to this burgeoning sector, thus making it easier for farmers to obtain the financial resources they need to invest in climate solutions.”

Not everyone is on board with the idea of paying farmers to sequester carbon in the soil. Last fall, 222 environmental and social justice groups wrote Congress opposing the bill. Friends of the Earth on Tuesday reiterated those criticisms. “The bill will help power plants, refineries, and other polluters to purchase carbon credits from farmers and other agricultural entities. The legislation is being touted as an agriculture-based climate solution by incentivizing farmers to sequester carbon in the soil. However, the credit scheme will allow polluters to offset their emissions, instead of reducing and eliminating them.”

Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., are expected to take the lead on introducing a companion bill in the House. READ MORE

GET SMART: The Growing Climate Solutions Act (Politico's Morning Energy)

GROWING CLIMATE SOLUTIONS ACT INTRODUCED IN U.S. SENATE (Brownfield Ag News; includes AUDIO)

The Senate Agriculture Committee is marking up the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act (Politico's Morning Energy)

SfL Applauds New U.S. GHG Reduction Goal (Solutions from the Land)

Let America's farmers grow climate solutions (The Hill)

CARBON BY THE BUSHEL: (Politico's Morning Energy)

Ag Climate Bill Crushes Senate Vote: Senators Overwhelmingly Approve Climate Bill for Ag Carbon Program (DTN Progressive Farmer)

Some other good news (Biofuels Digest)

Senate passes Growing Climate Solutions Act (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

ME FIRST: Fiscally conscientious law makers (Politico's Morning Energy)

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: The Senate Agriculture Committee is marking up the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act, which was introduced Tuesday. The bill would expand the Agriculture Department’s portfolio to help farmers switch over to “climate smart practices” and support private carbon markets. Ximena Bustillo and Helena Bottemiller Evich went into the legislation earlier this week.

Also up: The Senate Energy Committee is also meeting today for a hearing on developing and deploying carbon utilization technology, and the Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on shifting to a clean energy economy. READ MORE

Excerpt from Solutions from the Land: For policy makers to optimize the contributions that agriculture can make in this global effort, they must provide a wide array of enabling policies, like the one envisioned by the Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA). The measure was originally introduced last year, but after some modification, has been reintroduced in the Senate this week as a bipartisan measure. It creates a certification program at USDA to help farmers and forestland owners better participate in carbon credit markets. The measure is expected to vastly expand landowner involvement and promote the adoption of practices that help reduce the costs of developing carbon credits.

While the GCSA can serve as a helpful program, far more will be needed to optimize the contributions that U.S. agriculture can make to the efforts to contain climate change. For example, we have laid out a number of proposals for Congress, such as suggestions to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and policy recommendations filed in response to questions from the Senate Democrats Special Committee on the Climate Crisis.

The proposals emphasize a number of guiding principles that should be followed as agricultural response strategies to a changing climate are developed. Those include using science-based decision making when promoting climate-smart technologies and practices for sustainable agriculture and global food production. The principles underscore the fact that there is no "silver bullet solution" for enhancing agricultural resilience, noting that solution strategies must embrace a systems-wide approach.

We have called on Congress to increase federal funding for conservation tillage, cover crop and biogas programs administered through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); as well as Environmental Quality Incentives, Conservation Stewardship and Regional Conservation Partnership Programs. Lawmakers should rebuild the capacity of NRCS, state conservation agencies and local conservation districts to provide much needed technical assistance in writing and implementing CSA plans, and restore USDA's ability to conduct agricultural and economic research in support of CSA. Congress can also provide funding to the nation's land-grant colleges to expand CSA research and extension work.

We have outlined mechanisms through which farmers can deliver climate mitigation services, such as those envisioned in the Growing Climate Solutions Act introduced this week like carbon dioxide captured by crops, grasses and trees and sequestered in the soil. We also call for provisions that facilitate farmers reducing emissions resulting from improved agricultural management practices.

We have also told lawmakers that they can help the U.S. agriculture and forestry sectors avoid and offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from fossil fuels by promoting the use of biomass to produce renewable energy, fuels and biobased products.

SfL continues to stand ready and provide policy makers with the farmer-driven recommendations that can optimize the role the agriculture sector can play in addressing climate change. It is, after all, the farmers, ranchers and forestland owners who suffer a large part of the consequences of volatile weather and other growing threats. Those who work the land are also in the best position to provide the tools and practices needed to meet and ameliorate the risks a changing climate can generate. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: CARBON BY THE BUSHEL: Senators passed a rare bipartisan climate measure Thursday, the Growing Climate Solutions Act (S. 1251 (117)), which aims to clear things up for farmers hoping to sell carbon credits to bring in some extra revenue. The legislation would have the Agriculture Department set up a certification program to help private landowners navigate the complex field of private-sector carbon market programs. The legislation passed 92-8.

The bill still faced some resistance from progressives, who fretted that the carbon market scheme would be a conduit for greenwashing, preferring instead mandates to reduce emissions.

Companion legislation in the Housealso has support on both sides of the aisle, but has not enjoyed the same momentum as in the Senate. Pro’s Helena Bottemiller Evich and Tatyana Monnay have more from our Ag team. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: ME FIRST: Fiscally conscientious law makers are backing some big ticket climate measures too. The New Democrat Coalition is out endorsing 15 climate bills today covering issues ranging from forest restoration to renewable fuels to carbon capture, including the Outdoor Restoration Partnership Act (H.R. 2682 (117)), the Sustainable Skies Act (H.R. 3440 (117)), the Nuclear Power Purchase Agreements Act (H.R. 4834 (117)), the Growing Climate Solutions Act (H.R. 2820 (117)) and the Storing CO2 and Lowering Emissions (SCALE) Act (H.R. 1992 (117)). Read the caucus’ release here. READ MORE