Should the USDA Help Certify Farms & Other Entities That Wish to Participate in Voluntary Environmental Credit Markets? (S. 1251)

What is S. 1251?

(Updated March 12, 2022)

This bill, the Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2021, would authorize the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a voluntary Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Certification Program to help reduce barriers to entry into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners. Through this program, USDA will help connect landowners to private sector actors who can help them implement carbon-smart protocols and monetize the climate value of sustainable practices. Third-party entities certified under the program will be able to claim the status of “USDA Certified” technical assistance provider or verifier. A “voluntary environmental credit market” is a market through which agriculture and forestry credits may be bought or sold.

Entities eligible to participate in this program would be:

• Providers of technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, or private forest owners in carrying out sustainable land use management practices that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon; or
  
• Third-party verifies that conduct verification processes for voluntary environmental credit markets.

The USDA would be required to publish:

• A list of protocols and qualifications for eligible entities;
  
• Information describing the self-certification process for entities;
  
• Information on how entities can obtain the expertise needed to meet protocols and qualifications; and
  
• Instructions and suggestions to help farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners facilitate the development of agriculture or forestry credits and to help them access voluntary environmental credit markets.

The USDA would also be required to establish an advisory council to make recommendations regarding the list of protocols and qualifications, best practices, and voluntary environmental credit markets. The council would produce a report to Congress on topics relating to the voluntary environmental credit markets, including: barriers to market entry, challenges raised by farmers and forest landowners, market performance, and suggestions on where USDA can make a positive contribution to the further adoption of voluntary carbon sequestration practices in agriculture and forestry.

Additionally, this bill would rescind $4.1 million of the funds provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and make those funds available for the certification program.

Argument in favor

Reducing barriers to entry into the voluntary environmental credit market benefits farmers, the environment, and society as a whole given the potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change. Using the USDA’s authority to clarify requirements for climate-smart certification would encourage climate-smart farming and agriculture practices.

Argument opposed

This bill would allow greenhouse gas emissions to continue, albeit at a reduced pace, and wouldn’t do enough to keep the environment safe from polluters. It would be better to take more drastic action to address greenhouse gas emissions, to encourage ecologically regenerative farming without empowering large agribusiness conglomerates as this bill does.

Impact

Farmers; the environment; and the USDA.

Cost of S. 1251

The CBO estimates that this bill would cost $5 million over the 2021-2026 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced this bill to reduce barriers for farmers and foresters interested in participating in carbon markets, thereby rewarding them for climate-smart practices. When he introduced this bill, Sen. Braun said:

“As a Main Street entrepreneur and conservationist, I know firsthand that if we want to address our changing climate then we need to facilitate real solutions that our farmers, environmentalists, and industry can all support, which this bill accomplishes by breaking down barriers for farmers and foresters interested in participating in carbon markets so they can be rewarded for climate-smart practices.”

Original cosponsor Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, added:

“Addressing the climate crisis is one of the most urgent challenges we face and our farmers and foresters are an important part of the solution. The bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act is a win-win for farmers, our economy and for our environment. Our bill is a perfect example of how we can work across the aisle and find common ground to address a critical issue affecting all of us and our future.”

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization supports this bill. Its President and CEO, Dr. Michelle Murry-Heath, says:

“This legislation is at the heart of everything we fight for at BIO and proves that climate action and economic growth can go hand in hand. By helping our agricultural producers solve the technical entry barriers to carbon markets, this bill will encourage farmers and ranchers to use biotechnology breakthroughs to reduce emissions and deploy their land in the fight against climate change. It will bring greater value to the biobased economy by allowing the manufacturers of biobased chemicals, plastics, food, animal feed, and everyday materials, to reliably demonstrate their true environmental benefit, from farm to consumer. Because of the significant positive impact the legislation will have for American farmers, rural economies, and our planet, BIO supports and applauds Senators Mike Braun (R-IN) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for their leadership in introducing the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act.”

Family Farm Action opposes this legislation. In an April 22, 2021 statement, Family Farm Action argued that this legislation would “further consolidate agribusiness wealth and do little for the environment”:

“Under the Growing Climate Solutions Act, the agribusinesses positioned to buy, sell, or regulate carbon credits already hold monopolistic control of global agricultural markets. Without strong, preemptive antitrust protections, a carbon credit program would pay these agribusinesses for their pollution, compounding the already-substantial challenges they pose to the food system and the planet.”

Family Farm Action’s Senior Policy Advisory, Jake Davis, added:

“You don’t have to look far to see that the same agribusinesses who stand to benefit the most from generating carbon credits also have a hand in the companies buying and selling credits to third parties. We don’t need legislation that will encourage agribusiness to consolidate more wealth. Farmers, ranchers, and rural communities are already skeptical of federal climate legislation. An act that would actually pay CAFOs for polluting rural communities won’t address climate issues, it will further embolden the same bad actors who are causing the issues in the first place. Farmers and ranchers can be a part of the climate solution, so let’s incentivize that instead.”

In 2020, over 222 farmer, farmworker, environmental justice, climate, environmental, faith-based, animal welfare, and other groups wrote a joint letter opposed this bill. The groups wrote:

“While agriculture and land management can play key roles in addressing the warming climate, this legislation will allow greenhouse gas emissions to continue unchecked and will undermine efforts to build a healthy, sustainable, and resilient food system. Instead of continuing the legacy of pollution through carbon markets, we encourage policies that eliminate pollution at the source and support local food economies, better living wages for farmers and farmworkers, and pathways for sustainable practices of food and energy production. Ecologically regenerative farming should be incentivized in addition to, and not instead of, carbon reductions in the energy sector.”

This bill passed the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry with the support of 54 bipartisan Senate cosponsors, including 27 Democrats, 26 Republicans, and one Independent. Its House companion, sponsored by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), has 32 bipartisan House cosponsors, including 18 Democrats and 14 Republicans.

Over 70 agricultural and environmental organizations, including the American Conservation Coalition, American Seed Trade Association, The Nature Conservancy, and Environmental Defense Fund, support this bill. A number of food industry groups, such as American Sugar Alliance, McDonald’s, Tyson Foods, and Land O’Lakes, also support this bill.

In the 116th Congress, Sen. Braun introduced this legislation with the support of three bipartisan Senate cosponsors (two Democrats and one Republican) and it did not receive a committee vote. Rep. Spanberger’s House companion bill had 20 bipartisan House cosponsors, including 11 Democrats and nine Republicans, and similarly did not receive a committee vote.

Of Note: Many third-party groups are currently developing protocols and testing methods to calculate emissions reduction and sequestration in agriculture and forestry.

Media:

• Senate Agriculture Committee Press Release
  
• Senate Agriculture Committee Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate
  
• Family Farm Action (Opposed)