NFU: Climate change benefits outweigh costs  - 2009-11-06

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson today said the organization is committed to see climate change legislation address the unique role America’s family farmers and ranchers can play when it comes to combating global climate change.

“We are committed to constructively working with members of the Senate to ensure the interests of agricultural producers are met as the debate moves forward,” Johnson said.

In testimony submitted to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works today, Johnson said while he is pleased to see the Senate begin to consider climate change legislation, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act currently lacks the robust and flexible agriculture offset program necessary for America’s farmers and ranchers to be able to mitigate increased costs that will occur as a result of a cap and trade program.

“According to USDA, producers will economically benefit from an agriculture offset program. In the short term all cost increases are offset and in the long term agriculture will see returns of $4-5 dollars for every dollar of new costs incurred,” Johnson said.

Johnson urged committee members to take into account the costs of inaction. “Models of climate change scenarios demonstrate increased frequency of heat stress, droughts and flooding events that will reduce crop yields and livestock productivity,” Johnson said. “Estimates provide that for every one degree increase in temperature, Celsius, we will see up to a ten percent reduction in agriculture production worldwide.”

NFU has long had policy expressing concerns about the negative effects of climate change on domestic food, fuel and fiber production, and supports a national mandatory cap and trade system to reduce non-farm greenhouse gas emissions if the following conditions are met: USDA is granted control and administration of the agriculture offset program; early actors are recognized; no artificial cap is placed on domestic offsets; carbon sequestration rates are based upon science; and producers are permitted to stack environmental benefit credits.

Johnson also expressed concern that, failing congressional action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will move to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. “A purely regulatory approach will bring all of the downsides of increased energy inputs without the upsides of carbon offset opportunities. For these reasons, NFU supports a comprehensive legislative approach to addressing climate change,” Johnson said.