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Cultivating Solutions: ’s Role in -Smart Policy and Practice

Definitions & Reference Materials | Beveridge & Diamond PC | Washington, DC

This document defines key terms we will use at the roundtable and provides a guide to the reference materials we are sharing in advance. We hope you find it informative and useful.

Definitions of Key Terms

• Adaptation means technology, growing practices, or other measures that help manage the impacts of , including or water scarcity, excessive heat, invasive pests, storm intensity, changing weather patterns, biodiversity loss, and other projected impacts.

• Equivalent (CO2e) is a common way to measure GHG emissions in a standard manner based on the GWP of each gas. For example, a ton of avoided emissions would translate into 28-36 tons of CO2e (depending on the precise GWP employed).

• Carbon Offset means a tradeable instrument based on one ton of CO2e that is sequestered, or one ton of

avoided CO2e emissions. Carbon offsets have many names depending on their context. For example:

o Under the Clean Development Mechanism of the , carbon offsets are referred to as Certified Emission Reductions, or CERs.

o Under California’s Cap-and-Trade program, carbon offsets are called “Air Resources Board Offset Credits,” or ARBOCs, more commonly known as California Carbon Offsets, or CCOs.

o In a non-compliance context, offset credits are branded and typically take on the name of the registry that issues the credits. For example:

. ACR = Emission Reduction Tons (ERTs) . CAR = Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRTs) . Verra = Verified Carbon Units (VCUs)

• (GWP) is a measure of how much heat a given GHG traps relative to CO2 over a given time horizon. For example, the U.S. EPA estimates that:

o Methane has a GWP of 28–36 over 100 years; and

o (N2O) has a GWP 265–298 times that of CO2 for a 100-year timescale

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• (or GHG) means gasses that trap heat in the atmosphere. The U.S. EPA has defined GHGs to

include six “well-mixed” GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and (SF6). Other definitions also include water vapor as a

GHG. The greenhouse gasses most relevant to agriculture are CO2, N2O, and methane.

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body charged with assessing science related to climate change and GHG emissions. The IPCC regularly publishes reports on climate change and related technical matters. The IPCC reports represent the global scientific consensus on issues of climate science.

• Mitigation means measures that directly or indirectly reduce GHG emissions or sequester CO2, thereby helping to reduce the overall level of atmospheric GHGs.

• Private Governance means a set of non-compulsory measures adopted by an industry to manage certain of that industry. In the climate change context, this term typically refers to measures taken to avoid, reduce, or offset GHG emissions, such as corporate and “net-zero” policies.

o The voluntary carbon market is a broad, generalized term for carbon offsets and other instruments that are bought, sold, and traded for purposes of achieving private governance and corporate sustainability goals.

• Registry means an independent entity that issues carbon offsets and develops protocols under which offsets are generated. In the U.S., the three main registries are:

o American Carbon Registry (ACR) o Climate Action Reserve (CAR) o Verra

Guide to Reference Materials

Below is a list of the reference materials being provided in advance of the roundtable, along with a brief description.

In-Depth Materials: • IPCC, Special Report on Climate Change and Land (August 2019) A significant and detailed IPCC report covering a wide range of land use impacts, including agriculture, and how those impacts relate to climate change. The report also addresses adaptation and mitigation options. Among other things, the report concludes that while agriculture is a significant contributor to climate change, “[s]ustainable land management can contribute to reducing the negative impacts of multiple stressors, including climate change, on ecosystems and societies.”

o Full report (1,542 pages – large download)

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• World Resources Institute, Creating a Sustainable Food Future (July 2019) This detailed report covers ways that the food system can adapt to feed 10 billion people sustainably. The report represents the combined findings of a multiyear, joint effort of the World Resources Institute, the World Bank Group, United Nations Environment, the United Nations Development Programme, the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement, and the Institut national de la recherché agronomique.

o Full report (564 pages) o Blog post by the report’s authors with key findings o Related article presenting ten innovations highlighted by the report on both the adaptation and mitigation fronts, with a focus on biotech, chemicals, and management solutions

• World Bank, Making Work in Agriculture (2016) This discussion explores the intersection between climate and agriculture finance by promoting dialogue about these topics and suggesting innovative approaches: (1) Design innovative mechanisms and adapt others to leverage additional sources of both public and private capital that can be directed toward climate-smart investments in agriculture; (2) Identify entry points for directing climate finance into agriculture and linking financial institutions smallholders and agricultural SMEs; and (3) Provide technical assistance to increase investments in agriculture.

o Summary and press release

• World Bank, Future of Food: Shaping a Climate-Smart Global Food System (2015) This report examines ways to increase productivity and resilience of the food system in the face of climate change and methods to “make agriculture part of the solution to climate change.” The report recommends “implementing agriculture and food production practices that secure a triple win: boosting productivity, enhancing resilience and lowering (GHG) – the three pillars that form the basis of climate-smart agriculture (CSA).”

o Summary and press release

Articles Addressing Adaptation in the Agricultural Sector: • New York Times, In a Race Against the Sun, Growers Try to Outsmart Climate Change (September 2019) Highlighting how farmers in productive regions around the world are already shifting what crops they grow now or plan to grow in the future in response to climate change and the need for new technologies, methods, and varieties in the face of that change.

• Bloomberg, Climate Adaptation Must Be Part of Agriculture Programs (July 2019) Article making the general argument that agricultural development programs need to include climate adaptation strategies.

• Wired, Crispr Can Help Solve Our Looming Food Crisis—Here's How (August 2019) Article discussing Crispr-modified crops as a tool to reduce agriculture’s footprint.

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• AgriPulse, The Promise and Potential for New Plant Varieties (January 2018) Discussing the potential for new plant varieties to combat have biotic stressors (weeds, insects, fungi, nematodes, etc.) and abiotic stressors (heat, cold, drought, flood), which are likely to become greater threats to agriculture as climate change progresses.

Articles Addressing Mitigation: • Greenbiz, Is Big Ag in the Running to Be a Hero? (September 2019) Article discussing the vast potential for agriculture to play a leading role in climate change mitigation and related efforts to encourage that outcome.

• Technology Review, Is the Hot (And Overhyped) Tool to Fight Climate Change (June 2019) Short piece taking a contrarian view of GHG mitigation in the agricultural sector.

• New York Times, Can Dirt Save the Earth? (April 2018) Article discussing carbon farming/regenerative agriculture as a climate change mitigation tool; article focuses on the smaller-scale/organic-type farm context

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