Federal Outlook for Forests, Carbon and Climate Alexandra Murdoch, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Federal Outlook for Forests, Carbon and Climate

Alexandra Murdoch, Esq. Vice President of Policy, American Forests November 6, 2019

Forest-Climate Activity:

• Committees
• Caucuses
• Appropriations

Climate Activity: Committees

• Authorized on January 9, 2019
• Will “develop recommendations on

policies, strategies, and innovations to achieve substantial and permanent reductions in pollution and other activities that contribute to the climate crisis”

• Soliciting public input by 11/22.
• Will publish a set of public

recommendations by March 31st, 2020.

Climate Activity: Committees

10/22 Hearing: Solving the Climate Crisis: Natural Solutions to Cutting Pollution and Building Resilience

Climate Activity: Committees

Solving the Climate Crisis: Natural Solutions to Cutting Pollution and Building Resilience Witness Priorities:

• reforestation; avoiding forest loss through land-use planning; managing soil health;

reducing wildfire risk; improving forest management; supporting carbon sequestration on tribal lands; using prescribed burning and supporting cultural and traditional burning practices to protect forests; adequately funding active forest management;

• putting green infrastructure planning first before grey infrastructure planning;
• putting a price on carbon;
• amending 45Q tax to eliminate the current disincentive to use nature based climate

solutions; and

• using data to identify how to maximize taxpayer dollars.

Climate Activity: Committees

UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, & FORESTRY FULL COMMITTEE HEARING Climate Change and the Agriculture Sector Date: Tuesday, May 21, 2019 Chairman Roberts: “Obviously Climate Change is a complex and global issue. We must be thoughtful, informed and deliberate in considering potential responses and consequences.”

Climate Activity: Committees

UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT Full Committee Hearing to Examine the Outlook for Wildland Fire and Management Programs for 2019 Date: Jun 13 2019 Chairman Murkowski: ““There are a number of reasons why our forests and grasslands are increasingly susceptible to fire. A changing climate means dryer and warmer weather. Much of our nation’s forest landscapes are unhealthy and overstocked with excess fuels. And the proliferation of disease and insect outbreaks, certainly like we’ve seen in Alaska and elsewhere around the country, certainly Colorado, but these leave behind large swaths of hazard trees ready to ignite just like matchsticks out there. In Alaska, warmer winters have led to a population boom of spruce beetle across nearly one million acres in just a few years now. .”

Climate Activity: Committees

Aug 8, 2019 Press Release In response to the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) new special report on Climate Change and Land Use: “Today’s IPCC report …makes clear that we are not helpless. We have the power and the capacity to solve the climate crisis, and sustainable use of land and water resources must be part of that solution... They can play a critical role in driving carbon out of our atmosphere while also maintaining the long- term productivity of their land and the economic stability of rural

• communities. They deserve a prominent seat at the table as we work to

develop solutions that are a win-win for them and our environment.”

Climate Activity: Caucuses

Leadership:

• Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)
• Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.).

Policy mechanisms: Free markets, private property rights, “smart” regulation and cooperative federalism in lieu of top-down and centralized planning. Bicameral Roosevelt Conservation Caucus

Climate Activity: Caucuses

MISSION: To educate members on economically- viable options to reduce climate risk and to explore bipartisan policy options that address the impacts, causes, and challenges of our changing climate. Senate co-chairs: Michael Braun (R-IN) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) . House of Representatives co-chairs: Ted Deutch (D-FL-22) and Francis Rooney (R-FL-19).

Climate Activity: Caucuses

Republicans

• Francis Rooney (R-FL-19) – Co-chair
• Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY-01)
• Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV-02)
• Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01)
• Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21)
• Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL-18)
• Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02)
• Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL-13)
• Rep. Peter King (R-NY-02)
• Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY-23)
• Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08)
• Rep. David Joyce (R-OH-14)
• Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI-01)
• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01)
• Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI-06)
• Rep. Amata Radewagen (R-AS-00)
• Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR-00)
• Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL-08)
• Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02)
• Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16)
• Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA-07)
• Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-06)
• Rep. Denver Riggleman (VA-05)

Democrats

• Ted Deutch (D-FL-22) – Co-chair
• Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA-47)
• Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA-02)
• Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA-06)
• Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA-52)
• Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT-00)
• Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT-04)
• Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01)
• Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA-08)
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03)
• Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL-13)
• Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA-51)
• Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA-09)
• Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA-18)
• Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL-03)
• Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY-03)
• Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH-02)
• Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24)
• Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA-05)
• Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20)
• Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI-00)
• Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08)
• Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09)
• Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA-06)
• Rep. John Larson (D-CT-01)
• Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-07)
• Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL-07)
• Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA-31)
• Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05)
• Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI-01)
• Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA-27)
• Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO-07)
• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY-16)
• Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI-03)
• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09)
• Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-00)
• Rep. Robert Scott (D-VA-03)
• Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA-08)
• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY-03)
• Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA-07)
• Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA-18)

Climate Activity: Appropriations

Climate Activity: Appropriations

Senate Interior Appropriations Report, Title III Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, specific climate or carbon mentions:

• Wildfire Suppression:
• “The Committee believes that the Service should do

more to precisely and effectively target management activities to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires, improve management of the National Forest System, and assist in protection of other Federal, State and private lands from the ravages of catastrophic fire.”

Climate Activity: Appropriations

Senate Interior Appropriations Report, Title III Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, specific climate or carbon mentions:

• Forest and Rangeland Research:
• Programs are funded at no less than FY19 levels.
• “The Committee continues to note the success and

popularity of the Forest Products Laboratory as a model for the type of applied research which the Committee believes the Service should be engaged.”

Climate Activity: Appropriations

Senate Interior Appropriations Report, Title III Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, specific climate or carbon mentions:

• Forest Ecosystem Services Research
• “The Committee directs the Service to continue to utilize

existing partnerships with research institutions and states to fund research to establish methods, tools and standard protocols that help quantify forest ecosystem services, particularly carbon, in natural forested regions as a resource that can be managed by forest landowners for ecological and economic benefit.”

Climate Activity: Appropriations

Senate Interior Appropriations Report, Title III Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, specific climate or carbon mentions:

• Cooperative Forestry
• “The Committee encourages the Service to prioritize

work with regional, multi-organizational collaborations to support conservation efforts that help trees adapt to and offset climate change, as these partnerships can model best practices for effective urban and community forestry grants.”