Agriculture and COP 29 Outcomes

OMAHA (DTN) -- While the incoming Trump administration will look to scale back U.S. commitment to global climate initiatives, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that would risk putting U.S. farmers at a global disadvantage when American farmers should be championing their climate-smart efforts.

Vilsack returned late last week from the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP 29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. COP 29 was marked by disputes over how much wealthy countries will pledge to help developing countries as well as what role the U.S. will play in talks over the next four years.

In an interview with DTN, Vilsack said U.S. agriculture already has put a lot of investment in reducing greenhouse gases and making ag more resilient to extreme weather. Those efforts will continue.

"I understand there's a lot of uncertainty in any new administration and a lot of angst connected with it, but in terms of actual activities and investment and direction, I think it's not as dire as perhaps some people may think," Vilsack said.

OPPORTUNITY OVER DOOMSDAY

As the outgoing Agriculture secretary often likes to highlight, focus on climate change shouldn't just be on potential dire outcomes, but the opportunities that can be created for farmers and ranchers to earn more money for their farming practices.

"Instead of the doomsday approach, what we've been able to do is say, look, before you go down that road, you have to look at the opportunity side," Vilsack said. "It creates multiple income sources for farmers, which is critically important to the 90% of farmers that are having a tough time making it just from the farm," Vilsack said.

There is a case to be made that supporting climate-smart practices is fiscally conservative and saves money over time, he said. Practices such as no-till farming and planting cover crops help improve the resiliency of that farm.

"You won't, at the end of the day, [have] the same level of disaster that you could have had, which means less disaster assistance, you won't have quite the crop loss that you would have from droughts of any size because your soil is healthier and more resilient, so you have less potential crop insurance payments and you've got the additional opportunity of more income coming into farmers which may lessen the need for the kind of support systems that keep some of these farms afloat when they have difficult prices because of a surplus of commodities on the market," the secretary said.

SOLUTIONS FROM THE LAND

Ernie Shea, executive director of Solutions From the Land, also attended COP 29 with a handful of U.S. farmers. The group hosted events on water, renewable fuels, bioeconomy and invasive species. Shea said the discussion on the spread of invasive species showed countries were concerned about how some of these migrating pests were affecting farmers.

"Agriculture was more visible and I think we succeeded on amplifying the message that agriculture needs to be looked at as a solution and not simply as a problem," Shea said.

Shea said a theme at the COP meeting seemed to be that while the Trump administration might take a step back, state governments, local governments and the private sector will continue their efforts to reduce emissions and focus on sustainability.

"We've been down this road before," Shea said. "Most of our emphasis is how do you deal with reality and how can we help farmers adapt and improve resilience?"

Shea comes at climate work with an attitude similar to Vilsack. "There's an upside for agriculture to be more resilient as well as in our long-term view that we're going to be recognized in the marketplace. We're delivering what the world wants, one of which is lower carbon intensity, renewable energy and bioproducts, lower-carbon foods."

INTERNATIONAL TRADE PERSPECTIVE

International competition also will be a driver for U.S. agriculture to ensure the country has a seat at the table in climate talks. COP 30 next year, for instance, will be hosted by Brazil, which is expected to put a heavy emphasis on food and agriculture in the climate negotiations.

"It's incumbent on the U.S. from a trade perspective to be active in this space. The reality is Brazil is a competitor and other countries that are in the ag space are competitors to us in export markets," Vilsack said.

The U.S. will need to continue to stay competitive with others in emissions and other areas of sustainability when it comes to trade, Vilsack said.

"It allows us to continue to make the case to African countries where we want to expand, to Asian countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, where we want to expand export opportunities, to make the case that we remain a safe, sustainable supplier of agricultural products and food products that the world needs," he said. "If we disconnect ourselves, or we give the appearance of being disconnected from that system, I think it gives our competitors the ability to walk into other countries where they are making the case to buy their crops, that they can basically say, you can trust us because we're engaged in sustainable practices, and we're engaged on the international level. We're actively promoting climate-smart activities, so I think it's incumbent on us to remain connected."

Shea underscored the need for the U.S. to counter China's influence. "There's going to be much greater emphasis on agriculture at COP 30," Shea said. "There'll be a lot of concern about changing direction. The U.S. has played a major role historically in the COP and our absence will create a void. There's a lot of speculation that China's influence will go up and they'll have more opportunity to shape future policy and priorities with us not being in the room."

CARBON MARKETS COULD GAIN INFLUENCE

Shea said one of the outcomes from COP 29 was that negotiators agreed to rules for a global market for carbon credits. This has been a long-standing conflict in the talks, but international rules for carbon markets pump more investment into agricultural practices around carbon sequestration. Carbon markets send a signal that countries are willing to embrace "all the tools in the toolbox," Shea said.

"We're falling way behind on meeting the target. The narrowness in the approach of solutions doesn't align with the magnitude of the challenge," Shea said. "If we're going to get serious about addressing the climate crisis, we need to pursue all paths. Creating a way for agriculture to participate by sequestering carbon is a very important underutilized solution pathway. No, it's not perfect. But let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

Shea added, "We're delivering what the world wants -- lower-carbon renewable energy, bioproducts and food."

Here is an area where the Trump administration at USDA will also play a role. USDA has been implementing the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which passed Congress in 2022. USDA has been working to implement standards for technical assistance and how carbon market protocols will go forward for agriculture. USDA still has to appoint members of the Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program Advisory Council. Those groups will likely be formed sometime in January 2025. They will then start writing guidance for carbon markets.

USDA already has invested $3.1 billion Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities, including 135 projects are expected to enroll roughly 21,000 farmers and millions of acres in climate-smart practices. Vilsack said the projects include 270 different companies, non-profit groups tied to commodities and conservation, as well as 100 universities.

"So, there is a fairly large network of folks on the nonprofit side that are going to be advocating for continuation there," Vilsack added. "There's a tremendous amount of activity in this space and interest that I think sustains it, notwithstanding the incoming administration."

Also see, "With Trump Administration, Ag Sustainability Goals Will Likely Lean on Private Sector," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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