World Leaders Are Placing Big Bets On Agriculture In The Growing Climate Crisis Debate

Addressing climate concerns is one of the Biden Administration’s top priorities — and those efforts are in high gear this week. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is one of several Biden Cabinet members in Europe to work with international partners to combat climate change. 

USDA says Vilsack will be in Brussels, Belgium and Glasgow, Scotland, meeting with other policymakers and farmers. The goal is to show a commitment to addressing climate issues, while also promoting more sustainable climate-smart agricultural production systems, according to the agency.

The administration kicked off the nearly week-long trip on Tuesday in Brussels with what USDA called a “major announcement," unveiling the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate). Along with 31 other countries, the U.S. says it intends to invent $1 billion in climate-smart agriculture and innovations over the next five years.

USDA says the initiative has three main goals: 

• Demonstrate collective commitment to significantly increase investment in agricultural innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems over five years (2021-2025);
• Support frameworks and structures to enable technical discussions and the promotion of expertise, knowledge, and priorities across international and national levels of innovation to amplify the impact of participants’ investments; and
• Establish appropriate structures for exchanges between Ministers, chief scientists, and other stakeholders as key focal points and champions for cooperation on climate-related agricultural innovation, to engender greater co-creation and cooperation on shared research priorities.

On Thursday, Vilsack will attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. There, USDA says the Secretary will highlight the importance of addressing what is being called the climate crisis.

Vilsack isn’t alone in the COP26 trip, with several other key Cabinet members at the event.

“There are at least 13 Biden Cabinet members at the COP26 in Glasgow,” said Jim Wiesemeyer, Pro Farmer Washington correspondent, during “Signal to Noise” on Monday. “Former President Obama is going to join President Biden at it, so this is big time for them.”

Vilsack will be focused on agriculture, even participating in a discussion that involves dairy. Vilsack will take part in a “Pathways to Dairy Net Zero – Raising Ambitions on Climate Action in the Global Dairy Sector to Achieve the Paris Agreement.” Vilsack knows first-hand what U.S. dairy producers are already doing to help reduce the carbon footprint, as he previously served as the CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

More Funding in Build Back Better Plan

Heading into the COP26, more details continue to roll out about Biden’s Build Back Better plan (BBB).

According to Wiesemeyer, the potential cover crop program is getting lots of attention. The BBB would provide $27 billion to $28 billion in conservation spending, including a new $25-per-acre payment to farmers for planting cover crops. Those payouts would not be subject to payment limits, but there is a 1,000-acre limit. There is also a $5-per-acre payment to the owners of a farm where a producer establishes one or more cover crop practices, which is also limited to 1,000 acres.

However, as more funding gets announced for conservation and climate programs, Washington watchers are also awaiting more meat.

"There is really no detail. Just a bag of cash," says Wiesemeyer. "If they go through with the vaccine mandate, who will be there to implement all of this?  NRCS does not have the technical assistance on the ground to do its job now. Also, adding in all of this money in such a controversial manner on top of the quarter trillion plowed into nutrition in August makes it hard to imagine getting the farm bill done."

Larger Climate Strategy Also Announced

So, what exactly is the Biden Administration’s climate strategy? The White House released a report on Monday that outlines how the administration plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a goal the White House called ambitious yet achievable.

On Monday, the White House said their goals include:

• A commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions 50% to 52% below 2005 levels by 2030.
• Reaching a 100% carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.
• Achieving a net-zero economy by no later than 2050.
• Creating good paying, union jobs at home.

The outlined plan by the White House also includes:

• Switching to clean energy sources for electricity generation,
• Making many parts of the economy run on electricity, including cars, buildings and industrial processes.
• Increasing energy efficiency and scaling up the use of technology that pulls carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The report projects by 2050, electricity could provide between 15% and 42% of primary energy.

Just over a month ago, USDA announced plans for a new climate partnership that could help create a financial incentive for farmers using climate-smart farming practices. Called the “Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Initiative,” USDA says it’s designed to support pilots that create new market opportunities for commodities produced using climate-smart practices and position U.S. farmers, ranchers and forest landowners as leaders in addressing climate change. USDA says the pilots will invest in science, monitoring and verification to measure it.