Climate Change

Science Based Targets Initiative board undermines integrity of its corporate climate standard

A 2021 study estimates that companies whose equity shares trade on regulated exchanges account for about 40% of all planet-warming greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions.

US ag emissions declined in 2022. A blip or trend?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported today that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture fell in 2022, even as overall United States emissions rose.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds expensive industrial agriculture practices, turns aspiring conservationists away

MINNEAPOLIS—A new report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) finds that an outsized share of the funding for the conservation program Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) financed expensive practices with little or no conservation benefits, while two-thirds of farmer applicants were rejected from the program

Costly versus cost-effective

This report takes a close look at the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a farmer-focused conservation cost-share program. In the report, we examine the agricultural practices that EQIP helps farmers finance, how much funding went toward these practices in Fiscal Year 2023, including additional funding through the Inflation Reduction Act.

NSAC Comments on the Fiscal Year 25 CSAF List

The following comment was sent to Deputy Chief, Science and Technology Noller Herbert and National Climate Coordinator Dana Ashford-Kornburger of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture on March 15, 2024.  Deputy Chief Herbert and Coordinator Ashford-Kornburger,

IATP Comment on Voluntary Carbon Markets — IOSCO Consultation Report

IATP submitted the following comment to the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on March 3, 2024. 

SEC climate-related financial risk rule provides some transparency, falls short of meeting investor needs

MINNEAPOLIS—Today, by a 3-2 vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved its final rule on the disclosure of climate-related financial expenditures, costs and risks, including those related to greenhouse gas emissions. The rule applies to U.S.

Five tests for the FAO’s plan to end hunger and slash greenhouse gas emissions

The following opinion by Emile Frison, panel expert with the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), and Sophia Murphy, executive director of IATP was originally published by Future World News on February 28. 

New York AG files groundbreaking greenwashing case against global meat giant JBS

Today, the New York Attorney General (AG) sued global meat giant JBS over misleading net-zero climate claims. New York’s AG charged that JBS’ claim that it would reach net-zero emissions by 2040 was misleading to consumers because the company had no clear and achievable plan to reach the 2040 target.

CFTC’s high stakes bet: guidance and legitimacy for voluntary carbon markets

The scale of the pressure to get the rules right for carbon markets is reflected in this January 2023 headline: “Carbon offset market could reach $1 trillion with right rules.”