January13,2016
ClimateChange
IssueSummary:Earth’sclimateischanging.Temperaturesarerising,snowandrainfallpatternsareshifting,andmoreextremeclimateevents-likeheavyrainstormsandrecordhightemperatures-arealreadytakingplace.America’sfamilyfarmersandranchersarealreadyfeelingtheimpactofextremeweathervolatilityandaredealingwithitonadailybasis.TheU.S.mustenhanceeffortstobothmitigateclimatechangeandencourageadaptationforfamilyfarmersandranchersinordertoensuredomesticandglobalfoodsecurity.
ClimateChangeisOccurring
• AccordingtotheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture,“evidenceexiststhattheU.S.isalreadyexperiencinganincreasedincidenceofextremeweatherevents.”
o Averagetemperatureshaverisenacrossthecontiguous48statessince1901,withanincreasedrateofwarmingoverthepast30years.
o Manyextremetemperatureconditionsarebecomingmorecommon.Record-settingdailyhightemperatureshavebecomemorecommonthanrecordlows,andthedecadefrom2000to2009hadtwiceasmanyrecordhighsasrecordlows(USDA).
• Worldwide,netemissionsofgreenhousegasesfromhumanactivitiesincreasedby35percentfrom1990to2010(EPA).
o CO2emissions(75%ofGHGemissions)increasedby42%overthistime(EPA).
Source:NOAANCEI/CICS-NC
January13,2016
ClimateChangeImpactsFamilyAgricultureandGlobalFoodSecurity
• Increasedweathervolatilityassociatedwithclimatechangeresultsinfewerworkabledays,increasedpotentialforsoilerosion,andincreasedcropinsuranceclaims.
• Between2000and2013,20to70percentoftheUnitedStatesexperienceddroughtatanygiventime(EPA).
• Foreach1degreeCelsiustemperatureincrease,grainyieldsdeclinebyabout5percent(UN).
• Maize,wheatandothermajorcropshaveexperiencedsignificantyieldreductionsatthegloballevelof40megatonnesperyearbetween1981and2002duetoawarmerclimate(UN).
o Thesemajorcropsareimportantfoodsourcesformuchoftheworld.• Livestockproductionsystemsarevulnerabletotemperaturestresses.Ananimal’s
inabilitytoadjustitsmetabolicratetocopewithtemperatureextremescanleadtogestationalcomplications,stunteddevelopment,reducedproductivityand,inextremecases,death(USDA).
o Prolongedexposuretoextremetemperatureswillalsofurtherincreaseproductioncostsandproductivitylossesassociatedwithallanimalproducts,e.g.,meat,eggs,andmilk(USDA).
o In2013,afreakwinterstormhitwesternSouthDakotaafterdaysoftemperaturesinthe70sand80s,leavingrancherscompletelyunpreparedtodealwiththefeetofsnow,iceandhighwindguststhatwipedoutthousandsoftheircattle.Someproducerslosttheirentireherd.
• Fluctuationsinavailabilityofsurfacewater,rainfallandgroundwateraffectirrigationpractices(USDA).
Source:NOAANCEI/CICS-NC
January13,2016
• Risingtemperaturesandincreasedextremeweathereventslikedroughtorintenseprecipitationcanaffectpollination,plantgrowthandsize,plantreproduction,andtheamountofwaterrequiredbyplants.Perennialcropsunabletoreachtheirchillingtemperaturerequirementsproducereducedyieldsandcanbeadverselyaffectedbyfluctuatingwintertemperatureswhichcauseearlybuddingorbloomsthataresusceptibletofrostdamage(USDA).
• IncreasedatmosphericCO2stimulatesweedgrowth(USDA).Weedabundancedevastatescrophealth,asweedsleachresourcesandcontributedirectlytoplantdeath.
• Changingclimateconditionsaffect“feed-grainproduction,availabilityandprice;pasturesandforagecropproductionandquality;animalhealth,growthandreproduction;anddiseaseandpestdistributions”(USDA).
ThereareMeansforAdaptationandMitigationofClimateChange
Theclimatechangesbeingexperiencedtodayaremainlytheconsequenceofpastemissions,andtoday’semissionswillcontinuetoexacerbateclimatechangeinthefuture.Evenifatmosphericconcentrationsofgreenhousegasesarestabilized(whichwouldrequirelargedecreasesfromcurrentemissionslevels),landsurfacetemperatureswillcontinuetorisefordecades,whileoceantemperaturesandsealevelwillcontinuetoriseforcenturies(USDA).However,goodpublicpolicycanoffergreatopportunitiesforclimatechangemitigationandadaptationtohelpfarmersensuredomesticandglobalfoodsecurity.
• USDA’sbuildingblocksstrategyaimsto“reducenetemissionsandenhancecarbonsequestrationbyover120millionmetrictonsofCO2equivalent(MMTCO2e)peryear–about2%ofeconomy-widenetgreenhouseemissions–by2025.That’stheequivalentoftaking25millioncarsofftheroad,oroffsettingtheemissionsproducedbypoweringnearly11millionhomeslastyear.”
• USDAbuildingblocksinclude:soilhealth,nitrogenstewardship,livestockpartnerships,conservationofsensitivelands,grazingandpasturelands,privateforestgrowthandretention,stewardshipoffederalforests,promotionofwoodproducts,urbanforests,andenergygenerationandefficiency.Thebuildingblocksstrategyincludesthefollowingprograms:
o FieldtoMarket-aimstoreducegreenhousegasemissionsfromUScroplandso FertilizerInstitute-optimizesfertilizerapplicationo TrustforPublicLandandtheForestClimateWorkingGroup-executesstate-level
carbonreductions
SequesteringcarboninsoilcanhelpremoveCO2fromtheatmosphere
andimprovesoilhealth
January13,2016
• TheRenewableFuelStandard(RFS)
TheRFSisaprogramrequiringthedisplacementofpetroleum-basedfuelsintheU.S.transportationsectorbyrenewablefuelsthatcurbGHGemissions.TheRFSisintendedtobreakthepetroleummonopolyonthetransportationfuelsmarketandallowconsumerstochooselower-carbonrenewablebiofuels.
o IfRFSstatutoryvolumeobligationsarefollowed,theRFSwillreducegreenhousegasemissionsby138millionmetrictonsby2022;equivalenttotakingabout27millionvehiclesofftheroad(C2es).
o Conventionalbiofuelssuchascornethanolarerequiredtoproduceatleast20percentfewergreenhousegasesthanregulargasoline,andareconsideredtoachieve32percentinGHGreductions(FOE).
o "Advanced"biofuels(biofuelsnotproducedfromcornstarch)arerequiredtoreducegreenhousegasemissionsbyatleast50percent(FOE).
o Cellulosicbiofuelsarerequiredtoreducegreenhousegasemissionsbyatleast60percent(FOE).
January13,2016
Sources
(EPA)U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency.2014.ClimatechangeindicatorsintheUnitedStates,2014.Thirdedition.EPA430-R-14-004.www.epa.gov/climatechange/indicators.
(USDA)U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture.2013.ClimateChangeEffects,2012.http://www.usda.gov/oce/climate_change/effects_2012/CC%20and%20Agriculture%20Report%20(02-04-2013)b.pdf
(UN)UnitedNations.2016.SustainableDevelopmentGoals–ClimateChange.http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change-2/.
(C2es)CenterforClimateandEnergySolutions.2015.RenewableFuelStandard.http://www.c2es.org/federal/executive/renewable-fuel-standard.
(FOE)FriendsoftheEarth.2015.RenewableFuelStandard.http://www.foe.org/projects/climate-and-energy/biofuels/renewable-fuel-standard.