CAST Report: USDA Can Offer Tools to Stem Climate Change

A new report shows agriculture can provide 10-20 percent of the additional sequestration and emissions reductions needed for the nation to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Released last week by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, the report summarizes the different ways agriculture can provide mitigations to climate change and sequester carbon dioxide. The scientists say agriculture and forestry are the only sectors that have the potential to be a net sequestration sink for fossil-fuel generated greenhouse. The paper addresses several key topics, including nutrient and pest management, animal systems, ag technologies, the food supply chain and carbon markets. The report says USDA can partner with producers to reduce greenhouse gases through carbon sequestration. Additionally, USDA can help reduce emissions from rural energy cooperatives, bolster private working lands, public forests and grasslands, promote sustainable bioenergy wood products, contribute to the scientific understanding of climate change, and invest in climate-smart economic development in rural communities.