The document discusses supporting agriculture practices and policies in U.S. Climate Alliance states to help meet emissions reduction goals. It outlines the Climate Alliance's commitment to the Paris Agreement and focuses on natural and working lands as a key opportunity. Agriculture is an important sector for Climate Alliance states and practices like cover crops, no-till, and nutrient management can reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration. The document proposes developing an agriculture policy toolkit cataloging effective state and regional programs and policies to promote climate-smart agricultural practices.

1. Equipping U. S. Climate Alliance States for Natural and
Working Lands Mitigation: Agriculture Support
ThayerTomlinson, Coalition on Agricultural GreenhouseGases; JimmyDaukas, American Farmland Trust; JenniferMoore-
Kucera, AmericanFarmlandTrust; AnnaHarmon, Coalition on Agricultural GreenhouseGases; RyanSmith, DeltaInstitute

2. Presentation
Overview
Introduction to the U.S. Climate
Alliance
Natural and Working Lands
Challenge
Opportunities for GHG Reductions
in Natural and Working Lands
The Role of Agriculture
Agriculture Support to U.S. Climate
Alliance States:
◦ Agricultural Practices
◦ Agriculture Policy Toolkit

3. The U.S. Climate Alliance
The U.S. Climate Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of 25 governors committed to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris
Agreement.
The Alliance is led by state governments and is focused on state-to-state
cooperation to accelerate the deployment of climate solutions needed to help
each achieve their climate goals.
The U.S. Climate Alliance represents 55 percent of U.S. population and 60
percent of national GDP

4. The U.S. Climate Alliance
U.S. Climate Alliance states are committed to taking real, on the ground action
that urgently addresses the climate challenge. In becoming an Alliance member,
states commit to:
◦ Implement policies that advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26 – 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
◦ Track and report progress to the global community in appropriate settings, including when
the world convenes to take stock of the Paris Agreement, and
◦ Accelerate new and existing policies to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy
deployment at the state and federal level.
More information: https://www.usclimatealliance.org

6. State Targets for Emissions Reductions
Implement policies that advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by at least 26 – 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
Some states have set goals for net zero emissions (HI by 2045 and NY by 2050); some have also
made a clear commitment to including aspects of NWL in their statewide targets.

7. Natural and Working
Lands (NWL) Initiative
The Natural and Working Lands initiative of the U.S. Climate
Alliance identifies best practices for land conservation,
management and restoration to develop a carbon storage
policy framework for implementation.
The U.S. Climate Alliance has identified enhancing carbon
sequestration on natural and working lands as a key near-
term opportunity for achieving its climate goals.
Focusing on forests, farmland, ranchland, grasslands,
wetlands, and urban land to mitigate the harmful effects of
climate change.

8. Natural and Working
Lands Challenge
• Improve inventory methods for land-based carbon
flux;
• Identify best practices to reduce GHG emissions
and increase resilient carbon sequestration;
• Advance programs, policies, and incentives to
reduce GHG emissions and enhance resilient
carbon sequestration;
• Undertake actions that will support a collective,
Alliance-wide goal to maintain natural and working
lands as a net sink of carbon and protect and
increase carbon storage capacity, while balancing
near- and long-term sequestration objectives; and
• Integrate priority actions and pathways into state
GHG mitigation plans by 2020.

9. Impact Partners
Group of six NGOs that are providing technical
support to Alliance states to achieve the goals of
the NWL Challenge.
Support includes providing NWL inventory
development/refinement assistance, technical
support on agriculture and forests, providing
information exchange opportunities (such as
Learning Labs).

10. Agricultural
Support
Initial Work by AFT
and C-AGG is
Focusing on
Agriculture Practices
and Policies

12. Agriculture’s Importance
to USCA State Economies
◦ Top 10 agriculture states (cash receipts): California, Iowa,
Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, North
Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana
◦ Top 3 US milk states (production): California, Wisconsin,
New York
◦ Top 3 US soybean states (production): Illinois, Iowa,
Minnesota
◦ Top 4 US corn states (production): Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska,
Minnesota
◦ Top 3 US hog/pig states (sales): Iowa, North Carolina,
Minnesota
◦ Top 6 US fruit states (production): California, Florida,
Washington, Michigan, Oregon, New York
◦ California accounts for 48% of all fresh vegetable
production in the US

13. Potential for GHG
Reductions and
Carbon
Sequestration on
Agricultural Lands
Alliance states have
requested more information
on additional potential
agriculture practices, what
policies other states are
considering, and approaches
to estimate agriculture offset
potential in their states.
Fargione et al, Science Adv 2018

14. Agricultural Systems Management for
Climate Mitigation & Resiliency
Carbon
Sequestration
Reduced
Nitrogen Inputs
Improved
Water Quality
Increased
Biodiversity
Reduced
Pesticides
Reduced Energy
Drought
Resilience
Improved Air
Quality
Reduced N2O
Recapture &
Recycling of N
Yield Stability

15. Soil Stores 2 – 3x More CO2 than Atmosphere
2 – 5x More than Vegetation

16. Actions for Climate Mitigation & Resiliency
Photo source: Jennifer Moore-Kucera; Soil Health Image from: USDA –NRCS-Principles for High Functioning Soils Factsheet
Promote regenerative/ climate-
smart agricultural practices
Failure to prevent soil loss and
soils losing carbon may
outweigh actions to increase
levels in other soil types.

17. Cover crops
No till/reduced till/conservation till
Improved Nutrient Management
Integrating perennials with crops
Silvo-pasture
Riparian buffers
Filter strips
Windbreaks
Examples of Practices
Considerations

18. Create an Agriculture
Policy Toolkit
Agricultural Solutions for Mitigating Climate Change: A Policy
Toolkit for State Governments
Tools include:
◦ policies and programs driving adoption of agriculture pathways
that reduce GHG emissions and increase carbon sequestration
at the state, regional, and federal level
◦ private sector efforts such as corporate sustainability and
environmental markets.
Catalog programs and policies that support C sequestration and/or
reduce GHG emissions in agriculture at state and regional levels to
create individual state policy summaries. Also include those federal
programs most utilized by states.

19. Agriculture Policy Toolkit
will Include:
State profile with policies at the state level as well as state-
specific labor/income/farm size statistics
Feedback from interview process
Best practices and lessons learned
Policy development case studies
Regional programs
Use of federal conservation practices and programs
Financing opportunities—state, regional, federal and private
sector

20. State Agriculture and Climate Policies
Policies studied include:
◦ Healthy Soils
◦ Water Quality
◦ Water Efficiency
◦ Climate Resiliency
◦ Methane Reduction
◦ Nutrient Management
◦ On-Farm renewable energy/energy efficiency
◦ Farmland Conservation Preservation

21. Contact Information
Thayer Tomlinson, C-AGG, thayer@c-agg.org
Anna Harmon, C-AGG, anna@c-agg.org
Jimmy Daukas, AFT, jdaukas@farmland.org
Jen Moore-Kucera, AFT, jmoorekucera@farmland.org
Ryan Smith, C-AGG, rsmith@delta-institute.org