USDA Releases Assessment on Agriculture and Forestry in Carbon Markets
- Media Manager
- Oct 23, 2023
- 1 min read
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Release No. 0214.23
Published: October 23rd, 2023
Today, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) released A General Assessment of the Role of Agriculture and Forestry in the U.S. Carbon Markets (PDF, 1.3 MB), a comprehensive look at current market activity, barriers to participation, and opportunities to improve access to carbon markets for farmers and forest landowners. The report is the first of USDA’s deliverables under the Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA), which was signed into law on December 29, 2022, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is working aggressively to ensure farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and tribal communities have opportunities to be part of the solution to climate change, all while cultivating new revenue streams and fostering investment in rural communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This landmark report demonstrates both the potential and the challenges that carbon markets present for agriculture and forestry.”
As part of a broader effort to combat climate change, carbon markets offer a promising tool to achieve net-zero emissions. Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners can generate carbon credits by adopting practices to reduce emissions or sequester carbon on their land, and carbon markets may provide them new income opportunities through carbon credit sales. Purchasing these carbon credits may also help companies achieve voluntary greenhouse gas reduction goals.
