Farmer Carbon Credit Program Fails Without Climate Bill

A national program that paid farmers millions of dollars for reducing greenhouse gasses has fizzled amid uncertainty about U.S. climate legislation. The program has stopped paying dividends and will no longer taking enrollment after this year, according to program officials.

The Associated Press reports that the North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) awarded farmers carbon dioxide credits for using techniques that reduced emissions of carbon and other gasses tied to global warming and distributed the proceeds when those credits were sold to businesses, cities and others. About 3,900 farmers and ranchers from 40 states have earned about $7.4 million through the program since it started in 2006.

But carbon credits that fetched up to $7/ton a few years ago, are now nearly worthless, said NDFU President Robert Carlson. The group has six million tons worth of credits that have gone unsold and while it will continue to try to sell those, no new credits will be issued after this year, Carlson said.

The credits would have had value if Congress had passed the so-called cap-and-trade climate legislation. A bill that would have limited greenhouse gas emissions but let companies and others offset their pollution by buying carbon credits passed the Democratic-controlled House last year but has languished in the Senate. Republicans have derided the bill, which had strong support from Democratic President Barack Obama, as “cap-and-tax” because they said it would increase the cost of energy. ◆