Carbon Trading Information

Climate Change/Cap & Trade Legislation

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation strongly urges that the following principles be included in any cap-and-trade legislation. Inclusion of such principles will allow America’s farmers and ranchers the opportunity to provide low-cost, real and verifiable carbon offsets that could potentially reduce up to 20% of US greenhouse gas emissions.

• Legislation should not regulate agricultural practices or operations, but instead create incentives for GHG reductions, and fully recognize the wide range of carbon reduction and sequestration benefits that agriculture can provide.
• Early adopters of sequestration and GHG mitigation practices should be rewarded and not penalized for taking action before legislation was enacted.
• There should be no artificial limit to the amount of credits available to offset carbon emissions.

• USDA should have a prominent role in the administration of carbon reduction and sequestration programs for agriculture.
• Legislation must pre-empt GHG regulation under the Clean Air Act.
• Unilateral action by the U.S. without cooperation from other countries will not significantly achieve global GHG reductions.

In the end, any cap-and-trade legislation must make economic sense for agriculture. It must be structured in a way that the costs do not outweigh the benefits for agriculture, rural communities and the overall US economy while achieving the desired reduction in carbon emissions.

More information:

Download a pdf of Cap & Trade Principles.

More information regarding research and extension about carbon science can be found by visiting UF IFAS Carbon Resources Science Center

For more information about carbon credits and carbon reduction policy,
call 352-378-8100 ext. 1108 Email: andrew.walmsley@ffbf.org