July 29-130-Thayer Tomlinson

July 29-130-Thayer Tomlinson

• 1.
  Equipping U. S.Climate Alliance States for Natural and Working Lands Mitigation: Agriculture Support ThayerTomlinson, Coalition on Agricultural GreenhouseGases; JimmyDaukas, American Farmland Trust; JenniferMoore- Kucera, AmericanFarmlandTrust; AnnaHarmon, Coalition on Agricultural GreenhouseGases; RyanSmith, DeltaInstitute
• 2.
  Presentation Overview Introduction to theU.S. Climate Alliance Natural and Working Lands Challenge Opportunities for GHG Reductions in Natural and Working Lands The Role of Agriculture Agriculture Support to U.S. Climate Alliance States: ◦ Agricultural Practices ◦ Agriculture Policy Toolkit
• 3.
  The U.S. ClimateAlliance The U.S. Climate Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of 25 governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Alliance is led by state governments and is focused on state-to-state cooperation to accelerate the deployment of climate solutions needed to help each achieve their climate goals. The U.S. Climate Alliance represents 55 percent of U.S. population and 60 percent of national GDP
• 4.
  The U.S. ClimateAlliance U.S. Climate Alliance states are committed to taking real, on the ground action that urgently addresses the climate challenge. In becoming an Alliance member, states commit to: ◦ Implement policies that advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26 – 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. ◦ Track and report progress to the global community in appropriate settings, including when the world convenes to take stock of the Paris Agreement, and ◦ Accelerate new and existing policies to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy deployment at the state and federal level. More information: https://www.usclimatealliance.org
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  State Targets forEmissions Reductions Implement policies that advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26 – 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. Some states have set goals for net zero emissions (HI by 2045 and NY by 2050); some have also made a clear commitment to including aspects of NWL in their statewide targets.
• 7.
  Natural and Working Lands(NWL) Initiative The Natural and Working Lands initiative of the U.S. Climate Alliance identifies best practices for land conservation, management and restoration to develop a carbon storage policy framework for implementation. The U.S. Climate Alliance has identified enhancing carbon sequestration on natural and working lands as a key near- term opportunity for achieving its climate goals. Focusing on forests, farmland, ranchland, grasslands, wetlands, and urban land to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change.
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  Natural and Working LandsChallenge • Improve inventory methods for land-based carbon flux; • Identify best practices to reduce GHG emissions and increase resilient carbon sequestration; • Advance programs, policies, and incentives to reduce GHG emissions and enhance resilient carbon sequestration; • Undertake actions that will support a collective, Alliance-wide goal to maintain natural and working lands as a net sink of carbon and protect and increase carbon storage capacity, while balancing near- and long-term sequestration objectives; and • Integrate priority actions and pathways into state GHG mitigation plans by 2020.
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  Impact Partners Group ofsix NGOs that are providing technical support to Alliance states to achieve the goals of the NWL Challenge. Support includes providing NWL inventory development/refinement assistance, technical support on agriculture and forests, providing information exchange opportunities (such as Learning Labs).
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  Agricultural Support Initial Work byAFT and C-AGG is Focusing on Agriculture Practices and Policies
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  Agriculture’s Importance to USCAState Economies ◦ Top 10 agriculture states (cash receipts): California, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana ◦ Top 3 US milk states (production): California, Wisconsin, New York ◦ Top 3 US soybean states (production): Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota ◦ Top 4 US corn states (production): Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota ◦ Top 3 US hog/pig states (sales): Iowa, North Carolina, Minnesota ◦ Top 6 US fruit states (production): California, Florida, Washington, Michigan, Oregon, New York ◦ California accounts for 48% of all fresh vegetable production in the US
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  Potential for GHG Reductionsand Carbon Sequestration on Agricultural Lands Alliance states have requested more information on additional potential agriculture practices, what policies other states are considering, and approaches to estimate agriculture offset potential in their states. Fargione et al, Science Adv 2018
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  Agricultural Systems Managementfor Climate Mitigation & Resiliency Carbon Sequestration Reduced Nitrogen Inputs Improved Water Quality Increased Biodiversity Reduced Pesticides Reduced Energy Drought Resilience Improved Air Quality Reduced N2O Recapture & Recycling of N Yield Stability
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  Soil Stores 2– 3x More CO2 than Atmosphere 2 – 5x More than Vegetation
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  Actions for ClimateMitigation & Resiliency Photo source: Jennifer Moore-Kucera; Soil Health Image from: USDA –NRCS-Principles for High Functioning Soils Factsheet Promote regenerative/ climate- smart agricultural practices Failure to prevent soil loss and soils losing carbon may outweigh actions to increase levels in other soil types.
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  Cover crops No till/reducedtill/conservation till Improved Nutrient Management Integrating perennials with crops Silvo-pasture Riparian buffers Filter strips Windbreaks Examples of Practices Considerations
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  Create an Agriculture PolicyToolkit Agricultural Solutions for Mitigating Climate Change: A Policy Toolkit for State Governments Tools include: ◦ policies and programs driving adoption of agriculture pathways that reduce GHG emissions and increase carbon sequestration at the state, regional, and federal level ◦ private sector efforts such as corporate sustainability and environmental markets. Catalog programs and policies that support C sequestration and/or reduce GHG emissions in agriculture at state and regional levels to create individual state policy summaries. Also include those federal programs most utilized by states.
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  Agriculture Policy Toolkit willInclude: State profile with policies at the state level as well as state- specific labor/income/farm size statistics Feedback from interview process Best practices and lessons learned Policy development case studies Regional programs Use of federal conservation practices and programs Financing opportunities—state, regional, federal and private sector
• 20.
  State Agriculture andClimate Policies Policies studied include: ◦ Healthy Soils ◦ Water Quality ◦ Water Efficiency ◦ Climate Resiliency ◦ Methane Reduction ◦ Nutrient Management ◦ On-Farm renewable energy/energy efficiency ◦ Farmland Conservation Preservation
• 21.
  Contact Information Thayer Tomlinson,C-AGG, [email protected] Anna Harmon, C-AGG, [email protected] Jimmy Daukas, AFT, [email protected] Jen Moore-Kucera, AFT, [email protected] Ryan Smith, C-AGG, [email protected]