U.S. SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE: LAWS,POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS

CLIMATE CHANGE
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1AN OVERVIEWThe U.S. Sustainability Alliance has created a seriesof essential guides to the laws, policies, and programs
that govern and guide U.S. sustainable agriculture.
These reports outline the key dates and events, regulatory developments, and government funding
and assistance programs in four key areas: soil health, water, climate change, and biodiversity.
This report focuses on climate change, while the full series and a consolidated report coveringall four areas are available on the USSA website.
American agricultural producers, including farmers, ranchers, fishers, and forest managers, arestewards of half the landmass in the United States and many of its waterways. These growers
provide the nation and much of the world with an abundant supply of food, fiber, paper, andmany other products – and provide employment to nearly 20 million people. It’s a reality that’s
only possible through the sustainable and long-term management of natural resources.
Despite common misconceptions of U.S. agriculture as being uniformly large, corporate, andenvironmentally damaging - supported by a government that’s behind the curve on sustainability- the U.S. government and its farmers, fishermen, and forest managers have led conservationand natural resource protection for well over a century and have done so mostly on family farms.
In fact, the first federal agency dedicated to natural resource conservation dates back to 1871
and the creation of the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries - the predecessor to today’s U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. Its goal was to study declining food fish populations in the UnitedStates and recommend ways to reverse the trend.
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through a number of agencies and initiatives,
provides a range of incentives, education, research, technical assistance, and regulations
to support growers in state-of-the-art conservation and pollution management strategies.
In fact, the nation’s agricultural growers take part in the U.S. federal government’s largest
conservation programs - worth billions of dollars each year and protecting millions of acres.
As scientific understanding has evolved and society’s environmental awareness and standardof living grow, U.S. federal policies have expanded to include water pollution controls, species
and habitat protection, climate-smart agriculture, and biodiversity incentives, cementing
the United States . as a leader in natural resource protection and sustaining the nation
well into the future.

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CLIMATE CHANGE AND U.S.
SUSTAINABILITY POLICY
Climate change is one of the gravest threats toU.S. security, sustainability, and our food system.
Already, increasing droughts, extreme weather, and changing seasons are impacting growers’ability to produce food and other products.
The U.S. has long debated a comprehensive national policy on climate change and, in themeantime, the country has moved ahead with renewable energy tax credits, fuel emission
and efficiency standards, research and development, and massive investments in climate-smart
agriculture under the landmark Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. What’s more, increasingly,U.S. conservation policy is incentivizing farmers’ important role in reducing emissions andstoring carbon in the soil, forests, and waterways.
Under the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) is focusing on “climate-smart” mitigation strategies that include soil and forestry carbon
sequestration, managing nitrogen to reduce nitrous oxide, reducing methane emissions frommanure, building carbon stocks in our forests and wildlife areas, and improving the energy
efficiency of agricultural infrastructure, among other strategies.

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KEY EVENTS

1992
The U.S. Senate ratifies the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC), acknowledging the importance of addressing
climate change and establishing a framework for international climate
negotiations.
Renewable energy production tax credits are included in the 1992 Energy
Policy Act, aiding in the rapid expansion of the wind energy industry. Solartax credits were added in 2005.

2007
The U.S. Congress mandates emissions
reporting from large sources for the first time,
as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,establishing the Greenhouse Gas Reporting
Program (GHGRP) database.

2016

The U. S. joins the landmark Paris Agreement, an international accord
aimed at limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial levels.

2020

2022

Congress passes an omnibus package thatincludes research and development for clean
energy technologies, clean energy tax incentives,
and the phasing out of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),a potent greenhouse gas.

Congress passes the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate bill inU.S. history, with nearly $20 billion in funding for NRCS’s conservation
programs, which address climate change.
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KEY CLIMATE POLICIESAND PROGRAMSRELATED TO AGRICULTURE
THE FARM BILL
Renewed approximately every five years since 1985, the Farm Bill funds national
agricultural policy and priorities, including climate mitigation strategies such as:■ The 1990 Farm Bill included the Global Climate Change Prevention Act, which firstestablished a program within the USDA to coordinate climate-related issues.
■ The 2008 Farm Bill expanded support for renewable energy, including biofuels
made from agricultural products. It also promoted carbon sequestration throughreforestation, afforestation, and conservation easements.
■ The 2018 Farm Bill expanded the federal crop insurance program to allow greater useof cover crops, which increases carbon sequestration, as well as continuing funding
for the nation’s premier conservation programs, CRP, CSP, and EQIP, which include
numerous climate-smart provisions.
■ President Joe Biden signs the 2022 Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
executive order directing federal agencies to coordinate a government wide approachto combating the climate crisis. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture was tasked withdelivering a report with recommendations for a climate-smart agriculture and forestry(CSAF) strategy, which is in development. Likewise, the NRCS published its own
Climate Change Adaptation Plan in July 2022.
■ The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act provides unprecedented funding to support
agricultural producers investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. It makes
almost $20 million available for climate-smart agriculture through several existing
conservation programs implemented by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS), namely the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and AgriculturalConservation Easement Program (ACEP). The Act also dedicated $300 million toquantifying and tracking the emissions savings and sequestration benefits of theUSDA’s climate-smart activities.

CLIMATE-SMART COMMODITIES FUNDING AND ASSISTANCE
To help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners mitigate the effects of a changing climate,the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers funding to accelerate the developmentof climate-smart commodities - a term it uses to describe an agricultural commodity
produced using practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon.
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■ Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, launched in 2022, is a USDA projectbased initiative funded under the Inflation Reduction Act that aims to develop markets,
pilot quantification methods, and provide technical and financial assistance for America’s
climate-smart commodities. The USDA is investing more than $3.1 billion for 141 projects
through this effort and all the projects require “meaningful involvement” of small andunderserved producers.
■ In April 2023, the USDA announced the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities
Learning Network aimed at facilitating the exchange of information and lessons learned
from Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities projects.

CARBON MITIGATION AND SEQUESTRATION FUNDING
AND ASSISTANCEThe USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers various conservation
programs aimed at promoting sustainable agricultural and forestry practices that can help
sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including but not limited to:■ The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides rental payments and cost-shareassistance for agricultural producers to remove environmentally sensitive land fromagricultural production and to convert it to conservation practices, including practices likereforestation and wetland and grassland restoration that store carbon. CRP was updated
in 2021 to include a more substantial funding boost for climate-smart practices.
■ The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and oneon-one technical assistance to implement conservation practices to meet specificconservation and production goals. These can include: climate-smart conservation
practices, such as cover cropping and reduced tillage, which stores carbon in the soil andreduces nitrogen oxide emissions from fertilizer usage; reforestation, which stores carbon
in trees; and support for energy efficiency programs on farms, among other initiatives.
■ Administered by the NRCS, the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) provides
technical financial assistance in five-year contracts to farmers, ranchers, and forest
landowners for conservation activities, including those that encourage carbon
sequestration and emission reduction activities.
■ Launched in 2021, the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate)is an initiative led by the United States and the United Arab Emirates that unites partners
toward substantially increasing investments in climate-smart agriculture innovations
over five years.
■ The Conservation Innovation Grants program (CIG) provides funding to grantees
to develop tools, technologies, and strategies for next-generation conservation efforts
on working private lands. In 2023, the federal government put an additional $25
million towards CIG’s On Farm Trials to develop methane-reduction strategies,
including by changing the diet and feed management of ruminants, as partof its climate-smart strategies.

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6EDUCATION, RESEARCH, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE■ USDA promotes what it calls “climate-smart” agricultural strategies through content
on its website, programming, and free technical assistance to agricultural producers.
This includes information on soil carbon sequestration strategies, energy efficiency, nutrient
management, wildlife and grassland restoration, cover cropping, reduced tillage, and more.
■ In line with its Science and Research Strategy and aim to drive climate-smart solutions,
USDA and other federal agencies conduct research to better quantify and understand theimpacts of climate change on agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. This research informs
policy decisions and provides valuable data for stakeholders in these industries.
■ Established in 2014, the USDA’s Climate Hubs, which operate in ten regions across thecountry, conduct research on regional climate risks and variability. They also provide
information, tools including forecasting and data, and technical support to farmers,
ranchers, and forest landowners in adapting to climate change, including drought,
extreme weather, and changes in growing seasons. Building on its national success,the USDA launched an International Climate Hub in May 2023 to share research, tools,
collaborative efforts, and best practices on a global scale to improve the world’s ability toadapt to climate change.
■ Managed by a public-private partnership, the COMET-Farm Tool is a digital carbon andgreenhouse gas accounting system that allows farmers, ranchers, and forest managers toquantify their operation’s carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reduction
potentials based on multiple management scenarios. Similarly, the COMET-Planner Tool
allows agriculturalists to see the impact of various conservation practices implemented
through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). A global version ofthis tool is included in the International Climate Hub.
■ The Coalition on Sustainable Productivity Growth for Food Security and Resource
Conservation (The SPG Coalition), launched by the USDA in 2021 at the UN Food
Systems Summit, accelerates the transition to more sustainable food systems throughproductivity growth, including climate-smart agricultural practices. Members, which
include countries, farmer and producer groups, NGOs, research institutions, and others,commit to sharing education and information on best practices, innovations, and cuttingedge technology.

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