Climate Change

Overview
Because greenhouse gas emissions are linked to almost every industry, including agriculture, manufacturing and transportation, they must be considered when looking at the future of all these industries. Agriculture and forestry are somewhat unique in their ability to both produce and reduce greenhouse gasses. According to the EPA, agriculture in the United States accounts for 7-8% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The biological processes inherent in agriculture production, however, have the potential to allow agriculture to offset vastly more emissions than it produces.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

• Crop Systems & Global Change
• ARS Global Change National Program

Economic Research Service (ERS)

• Briefing Room: Global Climate Change
• Briefing Room: Conservation Policy
• Briefing Room: Environmental Interactions with Agricultural Production
• Briefing Room: Global Resources and Productivity
• Agricultural Land Tenure and Carbon Offsets (Claassen and Morehart, 2009)
• Environmental Credit Trading (Ribaudo, Amber Waves, 2006)
• Is Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture Economically Feasible? (Lewandrowski, Amber Waves, 2004)
• Economics of Sequestering Carbon in the U.S. Agricultural Sector (Lewandrowski, 2004)
• Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change (Schimmelpfennig et al.)
• Issues in Food Security: Climate Change and Food Security (Shapouri, 2001)
• World Agriculture and Climate Change: Economic Adaptations (Darwin, 1995)

Department of Energy (DOE)

• Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Fossil Energy
• Fossil Energy: DOE’s Carbon Sequestration Research Program
• Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration Video
• Carbon Cycling and Sequestration
• Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center(CDIAC)
• Terrestrial Carbon Management
• National Energy Technology Lab (NETL)
• Carbon Sequestration FAQs
• Carbon Sequestration Links
• Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the U.S. and Canada
• NatCarb Home Page: A National Look at Carbon Sequestration
• Carbon Sequestration Technology Roadmap and Program Plan

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Climate Change Indicators in the United States
• Carbon Dioxide Capture & Sequestration
• Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture and Forestry: Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential
• Climate Change
• Publication: Economic Impacts of S. 1733: The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009
• Publication: 2009 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report
• Publication: 2009 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report: Agriculture
• Cap and Trade
• Proposed Endangerment Findings
• Climate Change – Agriculture and Food Supply Impacts & Adaptation
• State and Local Climate and Energy Programs

Farm Service Agency (FSA)

• Conservation and Environmental Programs Division 2008 Annual Report
• Conservation Reserve Program: Estimating Water Quality, Air Quality, and Soil Carbon Benefits of the CRP
• Ecosystem Services Derived from Wetland Conservation

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

• Fish and Wildlife Service Climate Change Resource Index
• Southeast Region Fish and Wildlife Service
• Southeast Region Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration to Benefit Fish and Wildlife
• Southwest Region Fish and Wildlife Service Index
• Carbon Sequestration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

• Global Climate Change
• National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Climate Change
• Climate Literacy

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

• Global Climate Change
• Publication: Opportunities for Managing Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Agricultural Systems
• Fact Sheet: NRCS and Climate Change
• Voluntary Reporting Carbon Management Tool
• National Water and Climate Center

Office of the Chief Economist (OCE)

• Global Climate Change Home
• Effects of Climate Change On Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States (2008)
• U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3
• A Preliminary Analysis of the Effects of HR 2454 on U.S. Agriculture (2009)

Congressional Resources

• Congressional Budget Office – Federal Climate Change Programs
• The Economic Effects of Legislation to Reduce Greenhouse-Gas Emissions (CBO, 2009)
• The Use of Offsets to Reduce Greenhouse Gases (CBO, 2009)
• Reports on Climate Change (Government Accountability Office)
• Climate Change Trade Measures: Considerations for U.S. Policy Makers (GAO-09-724R, 2009)
• Climate Change Trade Measures: Estimating Industry Effects (GAO-09-875T, 2009)

Other Federal Resources

• The Risk Management Agency and Climate Change (Risk Management Agency – RMA)
• Climate Change and U.S. Agriculture (RMA)
• United States Global Change Research Program
• U.S. Global Change Research Program
• U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program
• U.S. Climate Change Technology Program
• Global Change Master Directory Web Site (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
• Global Change & Climate Home (CSREES)
• Consortium for Agriculture Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CSREES)
• Climate Change Home (U.S. Department of State)
• Office of Climate and Land Use Change (U.S. Geological Survey)
• Status and Trends of Biological Resources Program (U.S. Geological Survey)

International Resources

• United Nations Environmental Programme – Climate Change
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Climate Change: Implications for Food Safety (FAO, 2008)
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Australian Department of Environment and Conservation: Climate Change
• World Bank Carbon Finance Website
• Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2009)

Regional Partnerships

• Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership
• Midwest Geological Carbon Sequestration Consortium
• Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership
• Plains CO2 Reduction Partnership
• Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
• Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership
• Southwest Partnership CO2 Sequestration
• West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership

Additional Resources

• Berkey Filters Climate Change Resources Page
• United States Climate Action Partnership
• Climate Change Posts (United States Agriculture & Food Law and Policy Blog)
• Center for Climate Change Law (Columbia Law School)
• Pew Center on Global Climate Change
• Agriculture’s Role in Addressing Climate Change
• Cost of Carbon Sequestration: Executive Summary
• State- and Regional-Specific Actions on Climate Change
• National Commission on Energy Policy
• Carbon Sequestration FAQs (AL Forestry Commission)
• Carbon Sequestration Research (Southeastern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership)
• Glossary of Terms Used in Greenhouse Gas Inventory (CA EPA)
• Carbon Offsets (OK Forestry Services)
• Agroecosystems / Carbon Sequestration (CO St. U.)
• Idaho Soil Conservation Commission
• Soil Carbon Center (KS St. U.)
• Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
• Forest Carbon Portal
• Nebraska Carbon Sequestration Advisory Committee
• Carbon Price and Market Information
• Greenhouse Gas Online
• Climate Exchange Plc.
• Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX)
• Approved Aggregators on CCX
• European Climate Exchange
• Chicago Climate Futures Exchange

Voluntary Carbon Reporting and Registration Programs

• Carbon Sequestration in Idaho
• Georgia’s Carbon Sequestration Registry (Georgia Forestry Commission)
• The Climate Registry
• “Comet 2.0” USDA Voluntary Carbon Credit Reporting
• Carbon Trading: A Primer for Forest Landowners (National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry)

Publications

• Farm Income and Land Use Under Cap & Trade (Policy Issues, 2010)
• The Effects of Climate Change on U.S. Ecosystems (USDA, 2009)
• Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States (U.S. Global Change Research Program, 2010)
• Analysis of the Implications of Climate Change and Energy Legislation to the Agricultural Sector (U. TN, 2009)
• ABCs of Carbon Markets (Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler and Hagan PC, 2009)
• Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2009)
• Economic Implications of the EPA Analysis of the CAP and Trade Provisions of H.R. 2454 for U.S. Representative Farms (Agricultural and Food Policy Center, TX A&M, 2009)
• The Effect of Higher Energy Prices from H.R. 2454 on Missouri Crop Production Costs (Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri, 2009)
• Climate Change Economics (Choices, 1st Quarter 2008)
• Climate Change Home (The National Academies – NAS)
• Climate Change Basics (NAS)
• Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (NAS)
• The Corn and Climate Report: An Overview of Climate Science in the Service of Midwestern Agriculture (US Climate Change Science Program/IA St. Ext., 2009)
• Understanding and Responding to Climate Change: Highlights of the National Academies Reports
• International Climate Change Negotiations and Agriculture
• The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity (US Climate Science Program)
• Opportunities for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Through Forestry and Agriculture in Florida (Mulkay, et al., 2008)
• Carbon Credits: A Non-Traditional Source of Revenue for Mississippi Forest Landowners (MS St. Extension)
• Carbon Sequestration Policy and Global Warming: A Legal Analysis (Thorson, 2001)
• A Landowner’s Guide to Carbon Sequestration Credits (Central MN Regional Sustainable Development Partnership)
• The Role of Agriculture in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Recommendations for a National Cap-and-Trade Program (Bipartisan Policy Center, 2008)
• Offsetting Emissions: A Business Brief on the Voluntary Carbon Market (Ecosystem Marketplace and Business for Social Responsibility, 2006)
• Clean Air/Cool Planet
• Agriculture & Global Climate Change: A Review of Impacts to U.S. Agricultural Resources (Center for Climate & Energy Solutions, Adams et. al., 1999)
• Agriculture: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the United States (Reilly et. al., 2001)