A study released by the University of Tennessee’s Bio-based Energy Analysis Group indicated that net returns for U.S. agriculture would be positive, with the passage of a properly constructed national cap-and-trade regulatory system.

“Properly constructed” was defined in the study as allowing for multiple offset practices such as energy crop production, reduced soil tillage, methane capture, efficient fertilizer application, the planting of perennial grasses or trees on marginal land and keeping good farmland in crop production.

Overall, the study examined how the agricultural sector might be impacted by various climate change policy scenarios, according to lead researcher Daniel de la Torre Ugarte. Ugarte said the study “Analysis of the Implications of Climate Change and Energy Legislation to the Agricultural Sector” didn’t try to analyze any particular piece of legislation that has been proposed so far, but rather identified some key components that could make up sound climate change legislation while determining climate benefits, regional impacts and the impact on feedstock prices.

The scenarios proposed in the study, which assumed implementation of the renewable fuels standard in the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007, are based on five different characteristics, including the level of feedstocks produced, carbon prices, the number of offsets included, the level at which crop residues can be collected, and whether or not fertilizers are going to be exempt from the impact of any carbon prices or carbon charges.

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BioMass Magazine
Anna Austin