Natural Climate Solutions: A Win-Win Solution for Our Environment and Our Economy

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and U.S. Nature4Climate (USN4C) held a briefing on the role natural climate solutions can play in both mitigating climate change and stimulating the economy. Natural climate solutions, such as sustainable forestry and regenerative agriculture, reduce carbon emissions and sequester carbon through management of the world’s forests, grasslands, and wetlands. Policymakers are increasingly recognizing the important role America’s natural and working lands can play in efforts to tackle climate change. There is also growing evidence that these natural climate solutions can serve as a powerful mechanism to drive an equitable economic recovery—with lasting benefits for both rural and urban communities.

Panelists provided an overview of the diverse range of climate-sensitive strategies that can be implemented in America’s farms and ranches, forests, grasslands and urban communities. They also discussed the many economic benefits—from jobs to increased land productivity to new income for landowners—that can be derived by implementing natural climate solutions. We will also hear from on-the-ground practitioners who are already unlocking these benefits in both rural and urban communities. Finally, they explored how major U.S. corporations are supporting the adoption of natural climate solutions to help meet their sustainability goals and improve their bottom lines.

Highlights

Catherine Macdonald, North America Director - Natural Climate Solutions, The Nature Conservancy

• The Nature Conservancy works towards creating a world where people and nature thrive. Climate change is a big risk to people and nature. Species are facing range shifts, increasing extinction rates, and changes in their ecosystems while people are facing health risks and infrastructure risks.
• We cannot stay below a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in temperature [compared to pre-industrial levels] without help from nature. Research has found that natural and working land strategies, or natural climate solutions, could contribute as much as a third of what is needed to achieve the 2015 Paris Agreement commitment.
• The foundation of natural climate solutions is the carbon cycle. Plants take in water from their roots and they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere from their leaves. They form glucose and oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. The glucose is incorporated in their plant materials and deposited into the soil. In this manner, the soil and plants are important carbon sinks.
• Three important types of action that can influence how much carbon dioxide is absorbed by the carbon cycle is keeping ecosystems intact, restoring native ecosystems, and improving management practices.
• The land sector [including land use and forestry] is a net carbon sink in the United States, reducing our overall emissions by 12 percent according to the most recent EPA inventory data. Research from a colleague’s study suggests that the land sector can increase carbon storage through 21 different management practices. The study also offers solutions at different price points and lists other benefits from these practices, such as increased air quality. To achieve this potential, our practices need to be scaled up.
• There are over 220,000 jobs in the United States focused on forest and wetland restoration projects. Every $1 million invested in reforestation and sustainable forest management projects supports about 40 jobs.
• A recent Nature Conservancy study suggests that planting more trees in areas that are low-income or communities of color can create new jobs, reduce overall energy costs, reduce health risks like chronic respiratory conditions or heat-related illnesses, and improve mental health.
• Recent research by the Soil Health Institute has found that implementing soil health management practices can increase net income for farmers. In their work focused on the Midwest, researchers found that you could increase net revenue to farmers by $52/acre for corn and $45/acre for soybeans. Additionally, adding trees to row crops can provide greater income stability, which can improve the economic resilience of farms.
• Improved forest management can also increase revenue while simultaneously increasing carbon captured and stored on forest lands.
• Coastal wetlands can provide storm protection valued at about $23.2 billion per year. Green stormwater infrastructure can lower total capital costs for developers compared to gray infrastructure. Drinking water treatment costs can decrease by 20 percent for every 10 percent increase in forest cover in source watersheds.
• Adoptions of these practices must be scaled up with the help of the federal government. The federal government can provide technical assistance for landowners, provide financial incentives for natural climate solutions, and invest in federal land management. The federal government can also help scale voluntary carbon markets, provide incentives for state and local smart growth policies, and create workforce development programs that specifically target forestry and ecological restoration.

Kris Reynolds, Midwest Regional Director, American Farmland Trust; Farmer

• American Farmland Trust (AFT) is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect farm and ranch land, promote sound farming practices, and keep farmers on their land.
• Small changes to the organic carbon pool can have major impacts on the global carbon budget. We have lost more than half of the organic carbon that was originally stored in U.S. soils. The carbon stored in soil is up to four times the amount of carbon stored in the vegetation on land. Rebuilding soil health is crucial to sustaining agriculture and necessary to combat the impacts of climate change.
• Despite recent upticks in the adoption of better soil health practices, fewer than a third of the 260 million acres of row crops are managed with no-till or strip-till [in which the soil is not tilled or minimally tilled]. Fewer than five percent of those acres are using cover crops, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture [cover crops, which are generally not harvested, are planted during the off-season to prevent erosion and perform other helpful functions]. By increasing the use of these practices, farmers have the ability to combat climate change, improve water quality, and build on-farm resilience and profitability. Some co-benefits of these practices include increased soil temperature and moisture regulation; winter and early season weed suppression; improved soil structure; reduced soil loss from wind and water; increased diversity of soil biological communities; and higher levels of captured nutrients that support growing crops.
• Climate change is having a substantial impact on farmers. Impacts include fewer favorable planting days in the spring due to more frequent rainfall, increased erosion, and difficulty to manage weeds due to rainfall events. These changes make it important to adopt soil health practices and manage farms for soil health. Improving the soil structure of fields makes them more resilient.
• AFT has compiled nine soil health case studies from across the United States to quantify the economic benefits of soil health practices for family farmers. AFT used a partial budget analysis to estimate the net economic benefits farmers have experienced from investing in soil health practices (like no-till, strip-till, and cover crops). AFT also used the USDA Nutrient Tracking Tool and USDA COMET-Farm carbon capture calculator to quantify the water quality and climate benefits of using soil health practices. These studies demonstrate how soil health practices have both economic and environmental benefits for farmers.
• Ideally, carbon markets are an economic driver of conservation practice adoption. To make that possible, they have to be open to all, regardless of farm size; verifiable using carbon registry best practices; and transitional for the economy. They should be designed for permanence with appropriate safeguards in place.
• Recognizing that change does not occur overnight, one goal can be to triple the adoption of cover crops from the current 15 million acres to a total of 44 million acres.
• It is important to determine if Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Steward Program (CSP) payments for cover crops are high enough for farmers to overcome barriers to adoption as well as income loss.
• The success of conservation programs depends on adequate technical support. Federal agencies should look at ways to improve the Technical Service Providers (TSP) program as part of this emphasis on technical assistance. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) should also meet demand by expanding its ability to work with third parties to offer technical support.
• Research is needed on the best cover crop species to use by region, how different species improve soil organic carbon, the amount of carbon sequestered by these species, and their ability to increase overall water-holding capacity.
• Crop insurance is a trusted safety net program and plays a significant role in shaping decision-making in American agriculture. AFT recommended a study be performed to understand insurance barriers to adoption of cover crops and how these barriers can be addressed.
• Cover crops are one of the most effective tools we have to address soil nutrient loss and promote climate-smart agriculture on farmland.
  • The Fall Covers for Spring Savings crop insurance premium discount program in Illinois included 50,000 acres of land planted with cover crops. The outcomes of the program include 3,612 truckloads of sediment kept out of waterways and over 167,000 pounds of nitrate-n and about 15,000 pounds of phosphorus kept in fields.
  • Pilot programs in Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois have proven that incentives as low as $5 per acre can generate farmer interest in expanding cover crop adoption. These pilot programs can be replicated across the country with increased state and federal funding. Farmers do not receive money directly from these programs and instead receive savings on their insurance.
• Agricultural land offers opportunities for carbon sequestration. When agricultural land is developed and when it is lost, the ability to harness its carbon sinks is also lost forever. New development is preceded by the removal of topsoil from the land, which causes stored carbon to be released back into the atmosphere. The development of agricultural land disproportionately impacts nationally significant land and our nation’s most productive, versatile, and resilient land. Of the 11 million acres lost or threatened between 2001 to 2006, 4.4 million were considered nationally significant agricultural lands. This land loss pushes agriculture production to more marginal land, which can require greater inputs to achieve comparable production levels.
• Implementing conservation practices on working agricultural lands and protecting agricultural land are both important to include in any climate strategy.

Robert Shaut, Director of Tree Operations, Casey Trees

• Casey Trees is an urban forestry nonprofit in Washington, D.C., with a mission to restore, enhance, and protect the urban forestry of the nation’s capital and connect people to trees and through trees.
• Casey Trees has set a goal to reach 40 percent tree canopy cover in Washington, D.C., by 2032. We are currently at just over 37 percent canopy cover, which leaves about 400 acres of increased canopy needed to reach the goal. Trees are living beings so they die and new trees get planted, but it takes a while for them to grow, especially in an urban setting.
• Casey Trees has seen growth in the number of trees planted per year. In 2020, there was a decline in operations due to COVID-19, but it is expecting to plant 4,500 trees in 2021 and 5,000 in 2022.
• In addition to tree planting and maintenance, Casey Trees runs other green infrastructure projects, including stormwater management best practices (i.e., rain gardens). They host community events with volunteering components. They also do tree pruning, have a tree inventory, and conduct studies on the trees they have planted to understand their value and economic benefit.
• GIS mapping tools allow Casey Trees to visualize data about the city (i.e., demographics, sewer systems, current tree cover, heat index) and identify where to direct resources.
• The more engagement there is with communities where trees are planted, the more likely it will be that the trees will grow and be taken care of.
• Casey Trees is beginning to manage public green infrastructure that already exists in Washington, D.C. They provide maintenance and keep green infrastructure afloat.
• Trees add economic value in many different ways. One hundred mature trees remove 53 tons of carbon and catch 140,000 gallons of rainwater every year. Evergreen windbreaks can save five percent on heating costs. Shade trees can save 56 percent on air conditioning costs. Healthy mature trees add one percent to house values and specimen trees can add seven percent. The environmental impacts of trees are important, but the economic impacts are equally as notable.
• Casey Trees helped pass legislation alongside the D.C. Council and the Urban Forestry Division within the District Department of Transportation. They created laws to protect special (44- to 99.9-inch circumference) and heritage (greater than 100-inch circumference) trees. It takes 10-15 years before trees provide the most environmental benefits. The law states that you cannot cut down special or heritage trees, including those on private land, unless they are hazardous. The law requires you to pay to cut these trees down.
• Appraising the value of a tree includes considering its species, its condition, and its location. This helps to understand how valuable trees are, not only to the environment, but also fiscally.
• Stormwater retention credits are another valuable green infrastructure economic resource. Landowners can purchase these credits to offset their inability to actually manage stormwater on their properties.

Chris Adamo, Vice President for Federal & Industry Affairs, Danone

• Danone is a global company with a health-focused portfolio in food and beverages.
• Danone’s sustainability strategy includes addressing climate change by becoming a carbon-neutral company across its full value chain by 2050, protecting water as an essential resource, reducing food waste, making packaging circular to keep materials in use, and fostering regenerative agriculture practices.
• On agriculture and food, Danone is committed to regenerative agriculture and soil health research, restoring water to natural sources, supporting farmer livelihoods, and fostering biodiversity by building pollinator habitats.
• Regenerative agriculture is a set of farming practices that protect soils, water, and biodiversity and respects animal welfare.
• Danone made a $6 million commitment to soil health research programs to better guide and support its farmers.
• At the year three mark of its soil health research program, Danone had 82,000 acres enrolled across the various regions it works in. That is expected to rise to 100,000 acres at the end of 2021. The program does annual monitoring on how different soil health practices work on farms. It focuses on biodiversity and economic resilience.
• Natural climate solution investments can also take place through voluntary carbon markets.
• Danone receives grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the farms in its system. These grants would match the money the company spends on supporting farms. Over the last three years, $3 million has been matched in coalition with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation to build soil health systems on Danone's farms. Danone plans to use the data from the farms receiving these grants to present as case studies to other farms across the country. It has also invested in manure management techniques to learn more and share information with others.

Q&A Session

The work you each described today will be happening alongside things like increased urbanization and water scarcity. How do we build in staying power to natural climate solutions so they do not go away because of trends impacting them five to 10 years from now?

• Macdonald: It is important that, as we think about designing natural climate solutions, we think about not just today, but what will be happening in the future. We need to think about what kind of trees we plant, where we plant them, and where they can be successful in the future. We need to think about how to improve the design of our communities to reduce emissions and make our communities healthier. Our policies need to think about the current situation in our communities and what is to come in the future.
• Reynolds: Farmland protection is one of the ways to combat climate change, especially focusing on the most prime and resilient farmland. We are going to see the land change hands and we have to educate not only farmers but also landowners about land conservation practices.
• Shaut: We need extensive policy work and advocacy on the protection of natural lands. Additionally, we need to incentivize the installation of green infrastructure. We need to advocate for trees that will serve communities with the best impact.
• Adamo: For a company like Danone, we work with farms in rural settings, but each is very different. We need to find business models that keep those producers in production, especially for smaller farms. We need to be flexible in terms of thinking about which business models work and which do not. We also need to be flexible with each farm we work with and meet their needs and any other support they need. We need to be optimistic about our impact and make these practices more standardized across the board and across our supply chain.
• Macdonald: Adaptive practices are really important and highlight the need for continual investment and development in monitoring and evaluation to understand what practices will work best in the future.
• Shaut: Urbanization is largely focused on the need for housing along the coasts. We need to repurpose buildings for housing and think creatively about how we use space to decrease development.

What are some of the best opportunities for natural climate solutions to contribute to our resilience and ability to adapt to climate change?

• Macdonald: Our coastlines and floodplains are places where we can get double benefits. We see adaptation and mitigation benefits through the protection and restoration of tidal wetlands on the coast and floodplains anywhere.
• Reynolds: We have seen an uptick in conservation practice adoption but we have room for improvement. Soil health management systems, which include cover crops, no-till, and nutrient management, help combat climate change but also improve water quality. We need to keep working with farmers and landowners to show these benefits. Technical service providers need to help farmers adopt these practices and be successful in maintaining them over the long term.
• Adamo: It is almost impossible for us at the farm level to separate mitigation from adaptation and resilience. Soil health practices help with resilience.

Compiled by: Jocelyn Rendon