The United Nations Climate Change Conference began in Paris this week with President Barack Obama and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack
attending.  It’s officially the 21^st Conference of Parties, or COP21, and the purpose is to find agreement on how the world will address climate change.

Prior to the conference, the American Soybean Association (ASA) requested a briefing for agricultural groups from USDA to outline the commitments the United States planned to make and any implications for U.S. agriculture. USDA officials confirmed that the reductions pledged by U.S. as part of the conference would come within the framework of existing laws and regulations.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. will pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025.  The agreement will not specify how reductions will be achieved and agriculture is not expected to be a direct part of the agreement.

The U.S. pledge is a restating of steps already announced and submitted by the Obama Administration, including the announcement in March 2015 of the U.S. Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC).  In the March announcement, the Obama Administration cited the Clean Power Plan, Standards for Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles, Energy Efficiency Standards, and Economy-Wide Measures to Reduce other Greenhouse Gases as examples of the ways in which the U.S. would reach its targeted reductions.

While the COP21 agreement negotiations does not directly name agriculture, USDA is emphasizing the ability for agriculture to play a role in the broader elements of the agreement and that agriculture can play a role in meeting U.S. commitments.  For example, the “Climate Smart Agriculture” initiatives previously outlined by USDA and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are pieces of the effort that agriculture will contribute toward emissions reductions.  USDA further discussed the “building blocks” of the Climate Smart Ag, which are things such as soil health, manure and fertilizer management and CRP implementation.

The USDA Climate Smart Ag initiative is all voluntary and incentive-based. During the COP21 meetings, USDA also announced the release of a report on Climate Change and Global Food Security.