Carbon Sequestration

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Climate mitigation potential of regenerative agriculture is significant

Farmers in Rockingham County, Virginia check the results of no-till farming in their fields on September 9, 2008, as part of their participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI).

from Tropical Agriculture Association Highlights A group of scientists from the Regenerative Agriculture Foundation rebuked a recent report published by the World Resources Institute that claimed regenerative agriculture and carbon sequestration provided little to no benefits for climate change mitigation The Regenerative Agriculture Foundation states that regenerative agriculture creates healthy soils and reduces carbon dioxide … Read more

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Cap-and-trade is failing to provide adequate funding to California farmers

Photo by Karen Preuss

by Nicole Pollock, Inside Climate News Highlights Due to a decrease in revenue from California’s cap and trade program, many agriculture-based climate programs may receive funding cuts or no funding at all The cap and trade program typically makes $600 million and $800 million from major polluters in the state through allowance auctions, but due … Read more

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Soil professor receives $250k prize for helping farmers fight climate change

Photo by IFPRI -IMAGES

by Jessica Craig, NPR Highlights Rattan Lal, professor and director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at Ohio State University, has been recently named the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for his research on healthy soils. Lal has been the champion of farming techniques that keep and add nutrients in the soil and his … Read more

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Let’s harness the proven benefits of regenerative agriculture for a climate-safe future

Many California lawmakers understand the connection between energy use and the climate crisis. However, they are much less familiar with the vast potential for carbon sequestration in our soils. Healthy soils are a critical component of achieving the urgent goals of net-negative emissions by 2030 (drawdown of emissions already in the atmosphere greater than new greenhouse gas emissions) and increased resilience to climate-driven extremes like drought, heat, and floods.

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This Houston nonprofit is paying coastal landowners to store CO2 in their marshes

riparian buffer zones

By Michael J. Coren & Dan Kopf Highlights Houston based nonprofit the Texas Coastal Exchange (TCX) has awarded grants to local landowners with marshlands on their property in order to prevent development on lands that help sequester carbon dioxide Jim Blackburn, the President of TCX, explains that by paying landowners for this service, they may in turn … Read more

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Earth Day 2030: California celebrates reaching net-negative emissions

Golden Gate by Benjamin W.

Let’s imagine it is April 2030. In the early 2020s, as the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, we in California finally addressed the climate crisis at the speed and scale science demanded. Nation & World Collaborating for Speed & Scale Climate Action Today, Earth Day 2030, we celebrate the deep systemic changes we have collectively … Read more

Categories Business Network Carbon Sequestration Clean Energy Climate Justice Climate Targets Community Energy Resilience Divestment Public Health Transportation
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COVID, the California legislature, and climate policy for healthy soils

by Renata Brillinger, CalCAN Highlights The coronavirus pandemic is affecting farmworkers, food system resilience, and climate change impacts. The legislative session will be more constricted and fewer bills will be advance, but partners such as the California Climate and Agricultural Network will continue to work for healthy soils initiatives. Two bills are key: AB 1071 … Read more

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Cargill-led fund to pay U.S. farmers for carbon capture, exchange credits

Todd and Arliss Nielsen inspect their ryegrass cover crop in Wright County, Iowa. USDA photo.

by Karl Plume, Reuters Highlights Cargill Inc is paying farmers to sequester carbon in their soils and prevent fertilizer runoff, becoming the first effort to monetize environmentally friendly farming practices.  The Soil & Water Outcomes Fund, a partnership with the Iowa Soybean Association and third-party verification company Quantified Ventures, will sell the environmental credits created … Read more

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A closer look at farmer relief in senate pandemic aid package

Farmers in Rockingham County, Virginia check the results of no-till farming in their fields on September 9, 2008, as part of their participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI).

from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Highlights The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by the President to aid businesses and Americans features specific provisions targeting farmers and food insecurity. Agricultural Provisions An important measure of the relief bill helps provide support for producers impacted by the coronavirus, specifically for specialty crop … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration Public Health