Title: Carbon Dioxide Compliance and Credit Market for Agricultural Producers

Summary: Requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, to establish by rule a compliance market for carbon emissions to facilitate carbon credit trading for agricultural producers in the state; authorizing the department to contract with public and private entities to administer the market, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to a carbon dioxide compliance and credit market for agricultural producers; creating s. 570.234, F.S.; requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, to establish by rule a compliance market for carbon emissions to facilitate carbon credit trading for agricultural producers in the state; authorizing the department to contract with public and private entities to administer the market; providing rule requirements; requiring the department to submit a specified annual report to the Governor and Legislature; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 570.234, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 570.234   Carbon compliance and credit market for agricultural producers.  (1)   The department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall establish by rule a compliance market for carbon dioxide emissions to facilitate carbon credit trading on the open market for agricultural producers in the state. The department may contract with public or private entities to administer the market. (2)   At a minimum, the rules must provide for all of the following: (a)   Project eligibility requirements, including: 1.   Minimum acreage. 2.   Crop types. 3.   Agricultural practices that avoid, destroy, or capture carbon emissions. 4.   Emissions leakage. Projects may not shift emissions elsewhere as a consequence of the project. (b)   Buyer eligibility requirements. (c)   Minimum contract period. Projects must store carbon for years to be considered a carbon offset. (d)   Project registration and monitoring. (e)   Quantification of carbon credits. Carbon credits shall be based on scientific evidence, verified by a third party, and enrolled in a credible carbon registry. (f)   Reporting requirements. (g)   Certification of project documentation. Projects must be certified by an independent third party preapproved by a credible carbon registry. (h)   Issuance of carbon credit certificates. Carbon credits may only be issued: 1.   For metric ton or more of carbon dioxide equivalent. 2.   To one entity for each credit. 3.   For projects that otherwise would not have occurred in the absence of an issued credit. (i)   Project reversals, fraud, and error. Upon issuance of a carbon credit, a project may not be reversed before the contract period expires. (j)   Engagement with private companies operating carbon credit programs in the United States to recognize the state as an area of geographic eligibility. (3)   Beginning on January 1, 2024, and each January thereafter, the department shall submit a status report on the program, including recommendations for necessary statutory changes, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.