The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) is accepting applications for partial repayments to ag producers or transporters of ag products who paid carbon fees related to the state’s cap and trade program on fuel purchases. Qualifying purchases are between Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023. Funds will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications should be submitted at DOL’s ... Read More »
From the Capital Press It will be first-come, first-served when Washington distributes $28.5 million to partially refund cap-and-trade surcharges to farmers and haulers of farm goods. The Department of Licensing plans to activate a website and start taking applications for rebates Aug. 26. Applicants can file online or print applications to mail. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From the Columbia Basin Herald Budget writers in both the Senate and House have suggested allocating $30 million for refunding farmers impacted by the Climate Commitment Act. With the climate program, fuel used for agricultural purposes was supposed to be exempt. According to farmers and truckers in Eastern Washington, that proposal refund falls short. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), in collaboration with Washington State University, is working on a Climate Resilience Plan to support agricultural producers through the effects of a changing climate. WSDA is asking Washington producers to fill out a short, anonymous survey by Feb. 23, 2024, to help the agency understand their concerns and where resources should be focused. ... Read More »
From the Capital Press The Washington Farm Bureau estimates farmers have paid at least $153 million and likely far more this year in cap-and-trade fees, even though lawmakers intended to exempt agriculture from the tax on fossil fuels. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From the Capital Press Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, outlining his climate agenda for the 2023 legislative session, said Dec. 12 he will propose “new ways” to push through energy-related projects more rapidly. Inslee, who last month decried “nimbyism” as a threat to decarbonizing the economy, said state laws for approving transmission lines and manufacturing plants that support renewable energy are ... Read More »
From the Capital Press Step by step, Washington state has adopted the main canons of the Green New Deal, a sweeping set of mandates aimed at reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From the Capital Press The climate deal reached last week by Senate Democrats could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that American farmers produce by expanding programs that help accumulate carbon in soil, fund climate-focused research and lower the abundant methane emissions that come from cows. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From Successful Farming Congress should provide $200 billion in new funding over a decade to reach the goal of “negative emission farming,” said 450 conservation, consumer, farm, and environmental groups in a letter on Tuesday. The increase would be the equivalent of all the funding in the 2018 Farm Bill for crop subsidies, land stewardship, crop insurance, research and rural ... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) just published the 90-Day Progress Report on Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry. The report represents an important step toward in President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and shift towards a whole-of-department approach to climate solutions. The Order, signed January 27, states that, “America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners ... Read More »
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