{"id":4979,"date":"2015-04-30T15:40:46","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T19:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/?p=4979"},"modified":"2025-06-11T12:55:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:55:51","slug":"action-by-california-farmers-necessary-to-reach-states-new-emissions-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/2015\/04\/30\/action-by-california-farmers-necessary-to-reach-states-new-emissions-target\/","title":{"rendered":"Action by California farmers necessary to reach state’s new emissions target"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Robert<\/a>
Robert Parkhurst was in Los Angeles yesterday speaking at a conference on Navigating the American Carbon World. His panel<\/a>\u00a0discussed the \u201cFuture Offset Supply.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

California Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order\u00a0this week\u00a0ramping up the state\u2019s already ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goal, setting a new target to reduce emissions by 40 percent over 1990 levels by 2030.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations, but it\u2019s one that must be reached \u2014 for this generation and generations to come.\u201d \u2013 California Governor Jerry Brown<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This new target is a timely and significant step in securing a more resilient future for California, which is currently experiencing one of the most severe droughts<\/a> in the state\u2019s history.\u00a0But it\u2019s a tall order \u2013 and one that will require an array of aggressive strategies across all sectors.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, crop-based farmers are well-positioned to help.<\/p>\n

A new sector at play<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his remarks at the North American Carbon World<\/a> conference, Governor Brown stated that we must reduce the release of methane and \u201cmanage farm and rangelands, forests and wetlands so they can store carbon.\u201d That\u2019s good news because, for the first time this year, farmers will have the opportunity to earn additional revenue by reducing emissions generated through rice cultivation.<\/p>\n

The California Air Resources Board is in the final stages of approval for a pioneering protocol<\/a> that would allow rice farmers to generate carbon credits through a variety of voluntary practices that reduce methane emissions. These include dry seeding, early drainage, or alternate wetting and drying. Farmers that implement these techniques can earn new revenue while also contributing to the state\u2019s clean air goals.<\/p>\n

Nearly two dozen farmers on more than 20,000 acres are already participating in projects and have started implementing practices that will generate offsets as soon as this summer.<\/p>\n

Opening the flood gates, so to speak<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Source:<\/a>
California rice fields. Source: California Rice Commission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rice is the gateway protocol to a whole slew of other crops that have the potential to contribute big emission reductions in the coming years, not to mention new earning potential for producers. There are a variety of other protocols in the works across the country, from fertilizer to compost<\/a>, that would further enlist farmers and ranchers in the battle towards climate stability and increased agricultural resiliency.<\/p>\n

The rice program pioneered an infrastructure than can now be used to create a whole new generation of offsets from the agricultural sector that will help California \u2013 and the nation as a whole \u2013 achieve its emissions reduction goals and secure a more vibrant and prosperous future.<\/p>\n

The governor put it best when he said, \u201cWith this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations, but it\u2019s one that must be reached \u2014 for this generation and generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order\u00a0this week\u00a0ramping up the state\u2019s already ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goal, setting a new target to reduce emissions by 40 percent over 1990 levels by 2030. \u201cWith this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations, but it\u2019s one that must be …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[120554],"tags":[200,71846,71848,84755,152,71842,71844,71845,71841,202,71847,71696],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-4979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-california","tag-california-agriculture","tag-carbon-credits","tag-offsets","tag-climate-change","tag-comport","tag-emissions-target","tag-executive-order","tag-governor-jerry-brown","tag-greenhouse-gas-emissions","tag-navigating-the-american-carbon-world","tag-rice-farmers"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15458,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4979\/revisions\/15458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4979"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}