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Solving the Climate Crisis: Natural Solutions to Cutting Pollution and Building Resilience

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Solving the Climate Crisis: Natural Solutions to Cutting Pollution and Building Resilience SOLVING THE CLIMATE CRISIS: NATURAL SOLUTIONS TO CUTTING POLLUTION AND BUILDING RESILIENCE HEARING BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION HEARING HELD OCTOBER 22, 2019 Serial No. 116–12 ( www.govinfo.gov Printed for the use of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 39–375 WASHINGTON : 2020 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 039375 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HR\OC\A375.XXX A375 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with GALLEY-HROC SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS KATHY CASTOR, Florida, Chair BEN RAY LUJA´ N, New Mexico GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana, SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon Ranking Member JULIA BROWNLEY, California MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia JARED HUFFMAN, California GARY PALMER, Alabama A. DONALD MCEACHIN, Virginia BUDDY CARTER, Georgia MIKE LEVIN, California CAROL MILLER, West Virginia SEAN CASTEN, Illinois KELLY ARMSTRONG, North Dakota JOE NEGUSE, Colorado ANA UNRUH COHEN, Majority Staff Director MARTY HALL, Minority Staff Director climatecrisis.house.gov (II) VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 039375 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A375.XXX A375 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with GALLEY-HROC C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS Page Hon. Kathy Castor, a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida, and Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis: Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 1 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 3 Hon. Garrett Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State of Lou- isiana, and Ranking Member, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis: Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 3 WITNESSES Joseph Fargione, Science Director, North America Region, The Nature Con- servancy Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 5 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 7 Frankie Myers, Vice Chairman, Yurok Tribe Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 18 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 20 Jennifer Howard, Director, Oceans and Climate, Conservation International Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 28 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 30 Andy Karsner, Executive Chairman, Elemental Labs Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 36 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 38 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Report, The Ocean as a Solution for Climate Change: Five Opportunities for Action, submitted for the record by Ms. Castor ........................................... 61 (III) VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 039375 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A375.XXX A375 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with GALLEY-HROC VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 039375 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A375.XXX A375 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with GALLEY-HROC SOLVING THE CLIMATE CRISIS: NATURAL SO- LUTIONS TO CUTTING POLLUTION AND BUILDING RESILIENCE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 2:04 p.m., in Room 1302, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Kathy Castor [chairwoman of the committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Castor, Bonamici, Brownley, Huffman, Casten, Neguse, Graves, Palmer, Carter, and Miller. Ms. CASTOR. The committee will come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time. Welcome, everyone. Natural climate solutions are ways of storing carbon and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions through conserva- tion, restoration, and improved management of landscapes and wetlands. And today we will examine the potential of natural cli- mate solutions to help meet emissions reduction targets by seques- tering carbon in roots and soils and reducing emissions from the land sector by protecting natural resources and natural spaces. We will also discuss the co-benefits of nature-based climate strat- egies to create resilient ecosystems and communities from the in- creasingly severe impacts of climate change. And I would like to welcome everyone. We have all been quite interested in getting to this topic. So I will recognize myself for 5 minutes for an opening statement. The climate crisis is a complex problem, and there is no single, easy way to solve it. We have to explore every opportunity we have to keep carbon pollution out of the air and reduce climate risks and the rising cost to people and their communities. Over the past few months, this community has gathered information through hear- ings and site visits, so that we can build commonsense solutions to the climate crisis. We have examined the transportation sector, the electricity sector, the building sector, the industrial sector. We have discussed the importance of innovation. We have discussed invest- ing in clean energy, rebuilding our infrastructure in a smart way, and creating good jobs in the process. Today we are switching gears to discuss a powerful solution that is all around us—nature. The world’s ecosystems can help us solve the climate crisis. Protecting and restoring our lands and our wa- (1) VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 039375 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HR\OC\A375.XXX A375 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with GALLEY-HROC 2 terways and our natural spaces can provide a tremendous oppor- tunity to capture and store significant amounts of carbon. As you will hear from our terrific witnesses today, America’s for- ests, grasslands, wetlands, and agricultural lands can store more carbon. Such carbon sequestration and sinks have the potential to store the equivalent of over one-fifth of the net emissions in the United States every year. And America’s farmers are likely to de- velop solutions for the land that can be shared across the globe. Nature can help solve other climate change challenges as well. Take wetlands, for example. Whether it is mangroves in Florida or marshes in coastal Louisiana, wetlands are highly effective at stor- ing carbon. They also make our coastal communities more resilient by buffering the impacts and reducing the costs of storm surge, of sea-level rise, and flooding. Trees are another key natural climate solution. In fact, recent studies show that forests have the greatest potential to mitigate climate change. Trees can also help in the fight for climate justice. It turns out that urban forestry can reduce the effects of urban heat islands, protecting low-income communities from extreme heat. And investing in better forest management practices to reduce carbon pollution can also help protect communities from destruc- tive wildfires. Oceans, bays, and lakes are helping us store and ab- sorb more carbon, but they are stressed by acidification and warm- ing. We must be mindful not to overload them and trigger eco- system collapses that would harm everything dependent on them, including us. Nature offers us plenty of incredible resources to mitigate cli- mate change, but only if we work to protect it. Every 30 seconds our country loses a natural area the size of a football field to human development. When ecosystems are degraded or used for de- velopment, the carbon that they store is released into the atmos- phere, contributing to a warming climate that will transform the way we live. On the other hand, when natural spaces and ecosystems are pro- tected and restored, they have the capacity to do incredible things, like filter our air and our water, reduce heat in our cities, and help protect our communities from extreme weather events. So the choice is clear, protecting nature provides immediate cost- effective opportunities to dramatically reduce emissions and create more resilient communities. Local communities are hungry for a deeper partnership and resources to adapt to the rising cost and impacts of the climate crisis. So I look forward to hearing from you on the best natural solu- tions to solve the climate crisis. Thank you all for being here today, and I yield 5 minutes to Mr. Graves, our ranking member. [The statement of Ms. Castor follows:] VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 039375 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HR\OC\A375.XXX A375 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with GALLEY-HROC 3 Opening Statement of Chair Kathy Castor Hearing on ‘‘Solving the Climate Crisis: Natural Solutions to Cutting Pollution and Building Resilience’’ Select Committee on the Climate Crisis October 22, 2019 As prepared for delivery The climate crisis is a complex problem and there is no single, easy way to solve it. We have to explore every opportunity we have to keep carbon pollution out of the air and reduce climate risks and rising costs to people and their communities. Over the past few months, this committee has gathered information
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