Joint NASA/USDA Workshop on Agricultural Decision Support System

1. Joint NASA/USDA Workshop on Agricultural Decision Support System Carbon Management William Hohenstein USDA Global Change Program Office March 4, 2003

2. Overview of key elements of the Administration Climate Change plan • Sets a goal of 18% improvement in GHG efficiency • Roughly a reduction of 100 million tons of carbon • Incentives for carbon sequestration • Enhance conservation programs • Identify new targeted incentives • Promote private sector investments • Transferrable credits for real reductions • Substantially improve the GHG reduction registry • Offers transferable credits for real reductions • Create agreements with businesses and sectors • Invest in new technologies; and • Improve our scientific understanding

3. Improved access to remote information could support carbon management priorities • Targeted incentives for carbon sequestration • New accounting rules and guidelines • National inventories of greenhouse gas fluxes from forest and agricultural lands • Bilateral climate change agreements Mechanisms • Climate Change Technology Program • Climate Change Science Program

4. The President directed Secretary Veneman to: • Provide recommendations on targeted incentives for forest and agricultural sequestration of greenhouse gases

5. The Secretary has broad discretion in identifying “targeted incentives” • Incorporating GHG considerations in implementing Conservation Programs • Outreach and technical assistance • Guidance to states • Market-based pilots and programs that directly target greenhouse gas offsets • Promoting and leverage private sector financing of greenhouse gas offsets • Measure and assess performance

6. The President directed Secretary Veneman to: • Develop accounting rules and guidelines for crediting carbon sequestration projects, in consultation with DOE and EPA

7. Issues for USDA in developing accounting rules and guidelines • Methodologies • Defaults • Site measurements • Models • Types of actions eligible • Level of reporting • Baselines • Duration of credits (accounting for potential emissions in the future)

8. Common Elements of Project Monitoring Stratification: divide area into zones of similar vegetation structure to reduce the variance of the field sample estimates Sampling: use a combination of remote sensing and ground measurement Estimation: use appropriate statistical methods to estimate carbon stocks and stock changes Nowak 2000

9. Timeline for Preparation of Forestry and Agriculture Accounting Rules and Guidelines Guidelines Forms and Software Jan 03 Technical Workshops – Jan 2003 Post-workshop comments – Feb 2003 Develop draft accounting rules and guidelines – Jan – July 2003 Interagency review of draft accounting rules and guidelines – Aug 2003 Revise draft accounting rules and guidelines – Sept. 2003 Public comment on draft guidelines – Oct – Nov 2003 Issue revised accounting rules and guidelines based on comments – Jan 2004 Initiate work on forms – July 2003 Draft forms – Sept 2003 Government review of draft forms – Oct 2003 Revise draft forms – Nov 2003 Propose draft forms for public comment – Dec 2003 Develop and test software – Nov 2003 – June 2004 OMB review of reporting forms – April 2004 Final forms and software June 2004 Jan 04 June 04

10. 1999 Contribution to U.S. Emissions of Greenhouse Gases from Agriculture and Forests Other CO2 2% Other N2O2% Other CH4 7 % HFC’s, PFC’s, SF6 2 % Ag. N2O 5% Wood products 22% Ag. CH4 2% Fossil Fuel CO2 81% Ag soils 8% Forests 70% Total Emissions: 1840.4 MMTCE Carbon Sequestration: 270.2 MMTCE

11. Inventory Sample Design • Phase One – Remote Sensing to Stratify Forest Area • 3,000,000 forest sample points, each equals 100 ha • Phase Two – Ground Sampling of Forest Attributes • 120,000 forest sample points, each equals 2200 ha • Phase Three – Forest Health Monitoring • 4,500 forest sample points, each equals 38,500 ha

12. Ownership of Carbon Stocks on U.S. Forest Land, 1997

13. Carbon Stock Changes on U.S. Forest Land by Owner Group, 1987-1997(U.S. Total = 190 MMT/yr)

14. Science and Technology Management Structure Combined NSC, DPC, NEC Climate Change Policy Panel (Program Review) Committee on Climate Change Science and Technology Integration Chair: Secretary of Commerce,* Vice Chair: Secretary of Energy* Executive Director: OSTP Director Secretary of State Secretary of the Interior Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of HHS EPA Administrator Secretary of Transportation OMB Director Secretary of Defense NEC Director CEQ Chairman NASA Administrator NSF Director Interagency Working Group on Climate Change Science and Technology Chair: Deputy/Under Secretary of DOE,* Vice Chair: Deputy/Under Secretary of DOC* Secretary: OSTP AD for Science Members DS/US Level: DOS, DOT, DOI, USDA, HHS, DOD, EPA, CEQ, NEC, OMB, NASA, NSF Climate Change Science Program Office Director: DR. James Mahoney Membership:, DOC, DOE, DOS, DOI, USDA, HHS, EPA,OMB,NASA, NSF, DOD, OSTP, Smithsonian Climate Change Technology Program Department of Energy NCCTI Member working group *Chair and Vice Chair of committee and working group rotate annually

15. Climate Change Technology Initiative • Improved management practices • Precision agriculture – e.g. application of fertilizer, nutrient management, water management • Measurement and estimation technologies

16. Global Change Research Program and Climate Change Research Technology • Development of new 10-year strategic plan • Carbon cycle • Water cycle • Ecosystems • Land use and land cover change • Decision support • Scenario development • Observation systems

17. Australia Brazil Canada China CONCAUSA (Central American Countries) European Union India Italy Japan Korea Mexico New Zealand Russia South Africa Ukraine (on hold) State Department pursuing bilateral agreements with 14 countries