Dear Members of Congress:

We, the undersigned organizations, encourage you to oppose the Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2021. While agriculture and land management can play key roles in addressing the warming climate, this legislation would allow greenhouse gas emissions to continue unchecked and would undermine efforts to build a healthy, sustainable, and resilient food system.

The Growing Climate Solutions Act would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help agricultural entities generate carbon credits by certifying third-party verifiers and creating a “one stop shop” to educate and enroll farmers in third-party carbon markets. Power plants, refineries, and other polluters could purchase these carbon credits to offset their emissions, or even increase them, instead of actually reducing and eliminating them. Third-party verifiers have inherent conflicts of interest that would create a system ripe for fraud. This legislation aims to build a framework for broad-scale development of carbon markets and to pave the way for a national cap-and-trade program. We oppose these carbon schemes for the reasons discussed below.

Instead, Congress should invest in existing conservation programs to help transition farmers to more ecologically regenerative and resilient agricultural practices and systems -- ones that do not facilitate consolidation of more carbon offsets or carbon banks while relying on expensive and harmful chemical inputs, many of which are fossil fuel derivatives. Congress must also enact policies that require polluters to reduce and eliminate pollution at the source by stopping the expansion of oil and gas production and infrastructure, while investing resources to ensure environmental justice and a just transition to healthier, more sustainable communities.

To read the entire letter: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_fzpdrqvKqEeBvzGvSOIZ0jfDrC5OnHxAV4YyZ5PzvU/edit?usp=sharing

Sincerely,

ORIGINAL SIGNATORIES

Biofuelwatch
Businesses for a Livable Climate
Call to Action Colorado
CatholicNetwork.US
Family Farm Defenders
Food & Water Watch
Friends of the Earth
Indigenous Environmental Network
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Loretto Earth Network
Organic Consumers Association
Progressive Democrats of America
Public Justice
RapidShift Network