UF study: Farmers & foresters can harvest big bucks from the carbon market

Florida’s farmers and foresters can reap hundreds of millions of dollars under proposed climate change legislation now pending in Congress, according to a new study released this week by the University of Florida.

The report, titled "Opportunities for Greenhouse Gas Reduction in Forestry and Agriculture in Florida," contends that farmers  can earn more than $340-million a year by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and selling emission credits under a federal cap and trade program like the one created by the Lieberman-Warner bill now under consideration.

“Our report demonstrates that we can combine the ethical imperative of responding to climate change with power of the market, while protecting Florida’s natural resources,” Dr. Stephen Mulkey, lead author of the report from the University of Florida School of Natural Resources and Environment, said in a press release sent out by the Environmental Defense Fund.

Among the report's findings: Florida farmers can reduce 7.36 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from increased use of wood, energy crops, crop residues and ethanol as biofuels, for an offset value of  $147-million per year.

“We are always looking for new ways to help keep Florida’s agricultural producers profitable,” John Hoblick, president of Florida Farm Bureau Federation, said in the news release. “Giving them access to a voluntary market that will compensate them for their environmentally friendly practices is clearly a good thing and is something we are proud to be promoting.”

For links to both the full report and to an 8-page executive summary, click here. To read the EDF press release, click here.

--Craig Pittman