BPC Farm and Forest Carbon Solutions Task Force Releases New Statement on Near Term Policy Priorities for the 117th Congress
Washington, DC – The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Farm and Forest Carbon Solutions Task Force has released a new statement on near term policy priorities for the 117th Congress.
“The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Farm and Forest Carbon Solutions Task Force came together to advance more innovative federal farm, forest, and climate policies. As Congress considers a major suite of infrastructure and other spending programs this fall, we would like to see strong continued support for provisions that simultaneously strengthen rural economies, deliver critical climate and ecosystem benefits, and help America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners continue to meet national and global demand for food and renewable resources,” noted task force co-chair, former Sen. Saxby Chambliss.
The task force was convened with the recognition that America’s lands have an enormous opportunity to deliver important carbon removal benefits, capitalizing on emerging markets for carbon credits, new incentive programs, and other tools that could generate tens of billions of dollars per year in new investment for working lands within a decade. Task force members include leaders across industry, agriculture, and forestry; environmental and conservation nonprofits; trade associations; and former government officials. Over the past months, the task force has been developing a roadmap for scaling public and private investments in land-based carbon storage and emissions reductions, ensuring high integrity of these solutions, and reducing barriers to voluntary stewardship practices.
“We believe Congress and the administration should target bipartisan initiatives that expand financial and technical assistance as well as workforce development programs; strengthen voluntary carbon markets; spur new public and private financial and insurance instruments; build climate resilience; and foster technological innovation in agriculture and forestry,” task force co-chair, former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said.
The task force will release recommendations and policy priorities following final deliberations later this year.
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