Opportunities and Challenges in Forestry and Agriculture Climate Change Mitigation

1. Opportunities and Challenges in Forestry and Agriculture Climate Change Mitigation Jean-Mari Peltier Counselor to the Administrator on Agriculture Policy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at Forestry and Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Modeling Forum 2, Shepardstown, WV, Oct. 9-11, 2002

2. The Administration’s New Approach to Climate Change • The President’s plan commits US to slow, stop, and then, as science justifies, reverse GHG emissions growth. • Plan commits US to cut GHG emissions per Gross Domestic Product: • by 18% • over next 10 years, by 2012. • President’s goal would lower emissions: • from 183 million tonnes of carbon equivalent per million $ of GDP in 2002, • to 151 MT/million $ in 2012. • Review progress in 2012.

3. The Administration’s New Approach: 2 • President also announced Global Climate Change Initiatives: • Increase of $700 million in FY03 budget for global climate change activities • including: $4.6 billion commitment to tax credits for renewable energy sources. • Expanded R&D of climate-related science and technology • enhanced support for climate observation and mitigation in developing world, • Incentives for sequestration.

4. Sequestration Contributes to the President’s Climate Policy Goal • Farm Bill of 2002 includes: • enhanced EQIP, • pilot programs that may include sequestration projects, • increased Conservation Reserve Program set-aside acreage (now capped at 40 million acres, up from 34 million now). • The President directed Secretary of Energy (in consultation w/ Commerce, Agriculture, and EPA) to propose improvements to current voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reduction registry program (titled “1605b”). • 1605b registry allows companies to voluntarily report reductions. • Interagency process has started to hold public hearings & revise the program by mid-2003, to enhance its credibility.

5. EPA Forest and Agriculture Activities in Support of U.S. Climate Change Policy • Consultation on Farm Bill process • Compiles official U.S. GHG inventory for all sectors • Cooperation w/ USDA on agriculture and forest emissions • EPA voluntary programs: • methane reduction, • Climate Leaders: private sector companies, launched in 2002

6. EPA Forest and Agriculture Activities:part 2 • Mitigation analysis of energy, non-CO2 gases, and ag and forests: • modeling project-level, US, and international options, • costs, and policies. • Improve handling of sequestration options in major integrated assessment models for policy analysis

7. The Challenge for EPA and the Sequestration Community:How Can We Identify and Mobilize Cost-Effective, Credible Sequestration Activities in the U.S. and Internationally? • 1) Assemble the necessary data at the appropriate scales: national-level & project-level. • 2) Identify promising sequestration options and regions: • find the best opportunities, and see if we can target activities to them.

8. The Challenge: part 2 • 3) Assess co-benefits and co-effects of options: • How do they affect: farmers? Air quality? • Water quality? Wildlife? • 4) Assess methods to address the key technical issues re sequestration: • additionality, baseline setting, leakage, monitoring, and duration of the greenhouse benefits • 5) Assess policy and program options to deliver the best options.

9. Summary • This Forum can contribute to evaluating sequestration options. • Cooperation between EPA and USDA in convening this Forum is yet another demonstration of our commitment to work toward enhancing our management of croplands and forests in the U.S. • EPA committed to deepening this cooperation.