May 2019

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to the latest edition of NACSAA News, a monthly compilation of CSA-related news. “NACSAA in Action” features the latest on the Alliance activities; “Featured News” offers some of the biggest CSA-related stories of the past month; “Other News We Are Reading” is a listing of news stories from other sources we think you will find of interest; and “Partner News and Events.” We hope this newsletter will serve to keep you, your members and other constituencies fully engaged in the growing development of climate-smart agriculture policy, programs and practices. Your feedback is welcome and appreciated. To subscribe, email info@SfLDialogue.net.

NACSAA in Action

NACSAA Submits Recommendations

for Latest Koronivia Agreement Consideration

 

NACSAA leaders on Monday submitted the Alliance’s latest set of recommendations to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conventions (UNFCC) in support of the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture’s (KJWA) upcoming workshops next month in Bonn, Germany.

 


The submission addresses two new topics:

  • Methods and approaches for assessing adaptation, adaptation co-benefits and resilience
  • Improved soil carbon, soil health and soil fertility under grassland and cropland as well as integrated systems, including water management

The recommendations note the growing threat to how the world produces food, feed, fiber, energy and ecosystem services all cited in recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)and the U.S. Global Change Research Program, among others.

 

The submission lays out guiding principles and recommended methods and strategies for assessing vulnerability, adapting to changing climatic conditions and improving soil health.

 

The submission’s overarching recommendation, which is reinforced several times throughout the document, is the need for a scientific basis for change.

 

Guiding principles to be observed in developing the KJWA, NACSAA says, include:

  • Production and production efficiency per unit of land must increase going forward to meet the food needs of the future while incurring no net environmental cost.
  • Outcomes (rather than means) applicable to any scale of enterprise must be emphasized, without predetermining technologies, production type or design components.
  • Adaptation strategies must be recognized to require system approaches that utilize a combination of improved efficiency, substitution (e.g. new crop varieties and breeds), and redesign/system transformation to reflexively respond to continuous short- and long-term changes in climate’s impacts on cultivated and natural ecosystem conditions.
  • Peer reviewed academic, business and farmer climate smart agriculture research and knowledge sharing recommendations outside of the UNFCCC should be considered by the two UNFCCC work groups working on the KJWA and integrated into the final work joint agreement report.
  • There is no silver bullet solution for enhancing the resilience agriculture: KJWA must embrace a systems approach that recognizes the tremendous diversity of agricultural landscapes and ecosystems and enables producers to utilize the systems and practices that best support their farming operations.
  • Farmers must be at the center of all discussions and decision-making; significant input will be needed from a wide range of agricultural stakeholders, including technical agricultural experts drawn from farmer organizations, academia, industry, and international and regional organizations, especially those outside of the UNFCCC structure.
  • Context-specific priorities and solutions must be aligned with national policies and priorities, be determined based on the social, economic, and environmental conditions at site (including the diversity in type and scale of agricultural activity), and be subject to evaluation of potential synergies, tradeoffs, and net benefits.

NACSAA leaders expressed special thanks for contributing to or helping edit the draft to steering committee members Jerry Hatfield, director of USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub, and Lois Wright Morton, professor emeritus, Department of Sociology, Iowa State University. Also thanked were Aaron Wilson, a senior research associate of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and the Ohio State University Extension; Kyle Poorman, of the Facilitation Unit of the Global Alliance on Climate Smart Agriculture (GAGSA), Lara Moody, vice president of Stewardship and Sustainability Programs at The Fertilizer Institute, and Nick Goeser, vice president of Sustainability Sciences and Strategy with the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. Sam Harris, manager with BSR in San Francisco, was thanked for conveying the submission to the UNFCCC.

 

NACSAA leaders also expressed the alliance’s appreciation for Ashley Nelsen, the United States’ lead negotiator for ag policy issues in the UNFCCC. Nelson has provided valuable insight and guidance on issues being considered and parties involved in the KJWA’s development.

 

SfL Announces Florida Climate-Smart Agriculture Initiative

 

Solutions from the Land (SfL) has drawn together highly regarded Florida agricultural leaders who last month called for a deeper exploration of how farmers, ranchers, and forest land owners can supply environmental protection, food and fiber in the face of a changing climate.

 


The Florida Climate-Smart Agriculture Work Group aims to craft a plan for how the state’s 26 million acres of agricultural lands can adapt to changing conditions and produce more clean water and air and other societal benefits.

 

The work group is exploringways to improve climate knowledge sharing, along with taking inventory of current state-level programs, efforts and tools to manage climate risks.

 

Members affirmed as co-chairs Lynetta Usher Griner, co-owner of a cattle and timber operation, and Jim Strickland, a rancher whose cattle operation received statewide environmental awards last year.

 

The work group recognized the impacts that changing conditions and extreme weather events are having on Florida agriculture and that the current trajectory is not sustainable. Members also agreed that they must connect agriculture’s plan/vision with the concerns of non-ag/urban citizens to identify common values and that agriculture needs a powerful communication/marketing strategy as part of any pathway pursued.

 

Consensus was reached to focus the Work Group’s efforts on the development of a climate-smart ag/ecosystems services action plan through which the agriculture and forest sectors will be recognized as responsible partners delivering high value solution to challenges facing the citizens of the state.

 

The work group adopted the following mission statement:

The Florida Climate Smart Agriculture initiative will identify and implement climate smart agriculture solutions and ecosystem services that benefit the public, producers and the planet.

 

To read the press release announcing the Florida initiative, click HERE.

 

To read an SfL blog on the goals of the Florida initiative, click HERE.

 

USDA Reaffirms Science-Based Decision Making

at G20 Ag Scientists Meeting

 

Top researchers at the G20 Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) meeting in Tokyo last month agreed to hold a workshop later this year to “share…the latest information and facilitate research collaboration in the development and scaling up and out of climate-smart technologies and practices for sustainable agriculture.”

 


Calling for further development of climate-smart agriculture was included in a communiqué issued at the close of the meeting. Among those signing off on the communiqué were USDA’s top two scientists, Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA’s acting chief scientist and administrator of the Agricultural Research Service, and Scott Hutchins, USDA’s deputy under secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE). USDA is a NACSAA member.

 

The call to scale up climate-smart technology was one of several priorities listed in the communiqué. G20 members also reaffirmed a commitment to science-based decision-making in dealing with global food production, and acknowledged the threat posed by plant pests that might be aggravated by climate change and the globalization of markets.

 

“The G20 MACS brings together Agricultural Chief Scientists from around the world to deliberate on global agricultural research priorities,” Jacobs-Young said. “The meetings have proven to be essential in advancing the science and technology dialogue on critical issues facing the agricultural sector.”

 

“I was pleased to see an affirmation of the role for science-based decision making for advancing global food production in the MACS communiqué,” Hutchins said. “Globally, we are seeing an increase in the use of scientific information in policymaking and it is important that we remain vigilant in our risk assessment processes to ensure that we continue to accelerate innovation in agriculture.”

 

25x’25 Among RFS Power Coalition’s

First Supporting Organizations

 

NACSAA partner organization 25x’25 is among three groups announced last month as the first RFS Power Coalition supporting organizations. The coalition represents a wide range of stakeholders who support the inclusion of electricity in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The California Biomass Energy Alliance (CBEA) and the California Rice Commission are the other two initial supporting organizations for the coalition.

 


“We are grateful to 25x’25, CBEA and the California Rice Commission for their support of the RFS Power Coalition,” said Bob Cleaves, president and CEO of the Biomass Power Association, one of the three founding members of the RFS Power Coalition. “The inclusion of electricity in the RFS will benefit not only the biomass power, biogas and waste-to-energy industries, but many other industries and organizations that have a stake in a strong and growing renewable electricity sector. We call on the EPA to implement the eRIN program, as Congress intended, as soon as possible.”

 

 

Featured News

House Votes to Stop U.S. Exit from Paris Climate Pact

 

Democrats in the House of Representatives last week used their majority control to adopt a Climate Action Now resolution (HR 9) that would prohibit President Trump from following through on his intention announced June 2017 to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

 

Credit: National Geographic

In addition to denying federal funding to carry out the withdrawal, the resolution calls on Trump to develop and update annually a plan for the nation to meet its nationally determined contribution under the agreement.

 

Specifically, the plan required by the resolution must describe steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. The administration would also be required to confirm that other countries “with major economies” that have signed on to the agreement are fulfilling their announced contributions.

 

It also would require the White House to submit a report to Congress within 120 days on how he planned to meet the U.S. obligation under the agreement.

 

The resolution passed mostly along party lines, 231-190. Three Republicans joined all Democrats in voting for the measure. Four GOP members did not vote.

 

Given that Republicans control the Senate, the measure is not expected to see action in the upper chamber. But Democrats say passage of the resolution in the House offers a platform for their candidates to use the issue in the 2020 elections.

 

Democratic leaders moved quickly to nail down the vote on the resolution, working to avoid intraparty conflict from those who want votes on the “Green New Deal” or on a carbon tax.

 

Republicans in the House faced some of their own tension from those who agree with Trump’s desire to pull the country from the Paris agreement, but who do not want to be perceived has having no plan to deal with climate change, which is becoming a growing concern among voters.

 

Though Trump announced his intentions to withdraw almost two years ago, the United States cannot formally exit the Paris pact until next year.

 

Climate Extremes Explain 18-43 Percent of Global Crop Yield Variations

 

Researchers from the United States, Australia, Germany and Switzerland and have quantified the effect of year-to-year climate extremes on the yield variability of staple crops around the world.

 

The research published in the journal, Environmental Research Letters, showed climate extremes, such as hot and cold temperature extremes, drought and heavy precipitation, by themselves accounted for 18-43 percent of the year-to-year, crop yield variations during the growing season for corn, rice, soy and spring wheat.

 

The research comes on the heels of hurricanes Florence and Michael, as well as unprecedented wildfires, massive flooding and other natural disasters that has devastated agricultural regions across the United States.

 

In a letter to Congress last month, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said estimated agricultural losses in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina total nearly $5.5 billion. In Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, which were hit with record flooding from a “bomb cyclone” of catastrophic weather events, including blizzard conditions, hurricane-like winds, snow and heavy rain, losses are currently estimated at more than $3 billion, a figure that is expected to grow as recovery efforts continue.

 

Though the flood damage to crops in the midwestern United States was extreme, the international research team said that on the global scale, they found most important climate factors for yield anomalies were related to temperature.

 

The research also revealed global hotspots – areas that produce a large proportion of the world’s crop production, yet are most susceptible to climate variability and extremes.

 

“We found that most of these hotspots – regions that are critical for overall production and at the same time strongly influenced by climate variability and climate extremes – appear to be in industrialized crop production regions, such as North America and Europe,” said lead author Elisabeth Vogel, of Australia’s University of Melbourne.

 

For climate extremes specifically, the researchers identified North America for soy and spring wheat production, Europe for spring wheat and Asia for rice and corn production as hotspots.

 

But, as the researchers point out, global markets are not the only concern. Outside of these major regions, in regions where communities are highly dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, the failure of these staple crops can be devastating.

 

“In our study, we found that [corn] yields in Africa showed one of the strongest relationships with growing season climate variability,” Vogel said. “In fact, it was the second highest explained variance for crop yields of any crop/continent combination, suggesting that it is highly dependent on climate conditions.”

 

Researchers say that while Africa’s share of global corn production may be small, the largest part of that production goes to human consumption – compared to just 3 percent in North America – making it critical for food security in the region.

 

“With climate change predicted to change the variability of climate and increasing the likelihood and severity of climate extremes in most regions, our research highlights the importance of adapting food production to these changes,” Vogel said.

 

She said increasing the resilience to climate extremes requires a concerted effort at local, regional and international levels to reduce negative impacts for farmers and communities depending on agriculture for their living.

 

How Farmers Are Fighting Climate Change

 

A 10-year veteran congressional legislator from Maine, Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree, shared with constituents on her House of Representatives website last month a detailed assertion that farmers “have a critical role to play in reversing the effects of climate change by improving soil health and increasing the amount of carbon stored in the soil.”

 

Rep. Chellie Pingree

In late March, Pingree co-sponsored a bill that would require the Trump administration to remain in the Paris Climate Agreement and to develop a serious plan for how the United States will address climate change.

 

A member of both the House Agriculture and Ways and Means committees, Pingree acknowledged in her statement last month the “especially tough times for farmers,” noting thin margins, trade wars jeopardizing export markets, a serious mental health and substance abuse crisis that is ravaging rural communities, and extreme weather event. “Whether it’s the result of changing growing seasons, a 500-year flood, or a prolonged drought,” she said, “this is making it increasingly difficult for farmers to stay on their land and turn a profit.”

 

The congresswoman said farmers are already implementing climate-smart practices on their operations. Citing the wide array of USDA conservation, farm service and rural development personnel across the country, she said farm bill programs, infrastructure and state, along with research from federal labs land grant universities and 10 USDA climate hubs across the nation must be deployed to farmers nationwide.

 

NASA Study Verifies Global Warming Trends

 

A new study by researchers from NASA has verified the accuracy of recent global warming figures.

 


The team used measurements of the ‘skin’ temperature of the Earth taken by a satellite-based infrared measurement system called AIRS (Atmospheric Infra-Red Sounder) from 2003 to 2017.

 

They compared these with station-based analyses of surface air temperature anomalies – principally the Goddard Institute for Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP).

 

They found a high level of consistency between the two datasets over the past 15 years. Their results were published last month Environmental Research Letters.

 

Commenting on the study, lead author Joel Susskind, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said: “AIRS data complement GISTEMP because they are at a higher spatial resolution than GISTEMP, and have more complete global coverage.

 

Could Computer Games Help Farmers Adapt to Climate Change?

 

Scientists from Sweden and Finland say gaming presents both challenges and benefits for communicating climate change methods to farmers

 


Web-based gaming, such as simulation games, can promote innovative communication strategies that engage farmers with scientific research and help them adapt to climate change, the researchers say.

 

Methods employed to tackle climate change, such as, for example, improving drainage systems to cope with increased levels of precipitation, are known as adaptation strategies. “Maladaptation” is the implementation of poor decisions or methods that were initially considered beneficial, but which could actually increase people’s vulnerability in the future.

 

Researchers from Sweden and Finland have developed the interactive web-based Maladaptation Game, which can be used to better understand how Nordic farmers make decisions regarding environmental changes and how they negotiate the negative impacts of potentially damaging decisions.

 

Their research is presented in the article “Benefits and challenges of serious gaming – the case of ‘The Maladaptation Game’” published in De Gruyter’s journal Open Agriculture, by author Therese Asplund and colleagues from Linköping University in Sweden and the University of Helsinki in Finland.

 

Tested on stakeholders from the agricultural sector in Sweden and Finland, the Maladaptation Game presents the player with four agricultural challenges: precipitation, temperature increase/drought, longer growing seasons and increased risk of pests and weeds. For each challenge, the player must make a strategic decision based on the options given. At the end, the player receives a summary of the potential negative outcomes based on their decisions.

 

“While we observed that the conceptual thinking of the game sometimes clashes with the players’ everyday experiences and practice, we believe gaming may function as an eye-opener to new ways of thinking,” explains Asplund.

 

Based on recent literature on serious gaming and climate communication, the authors suggest that serious games should be designed to include elements of thinking and sharing, which will stimulate reflection and discussion among stakeholders.

 

“Serious games have great potential of how to address complex environmental issues. Used as a communication strategy, they illustrate, visualize and communicate research findings,” says Asplund.

 

Nebraska Legislators Adopt Clean Energy Economic Development Changes

 

In a move to boost clean energy and energy efficiency in the state, Nebraska lawmakers unanimously passed legislation last month that makes changes to the state’s Property Assessed Clean Energy Act, commonly known as PACE.

 


PACE programs provide a means of financing energy efficiency upgrades, disaster resiliency improvements, water conservation measures, or renewable energy installations of residential, commercial and industrial property owners. The programs allow a property owner to finance the up-front cost of energy or other eligible improvements on a property and then pay the costs back over time through a voluntary assessment on that property.

 

The act passed by the Nebraska legislature allows cities and counties to authorize PACE financing within their jurisdictions for energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy projects for commercial, agricultural and residential property.

 

LB23, sponsored by Seward Sen. Mark Kolterman, adds new public purpose language to the PACE Act and changes the classification of co-generation and tri-generation systems under the act from a renewable energy resource to an energy efficiency improvement.

 

The bill also allows municipalities, on a case-by-case basis, to wave a requirement that the energy savings generated by a PACE project exceed the cost of the project.

 

LB23 passed the unicameral body on a 45-0 vote.

 

 

 

Other News We Are Reading…

.

Wet Weather and Flooding Are Testing U.S. Agriculture (Forbes)

 

With more than 40 percent of land in the United States designated as farmland, agriculture is a major industry. In 2016, agriculture contributed a record $1.05 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product, a large portion of that being crop farming. Corn, soybean and wheat are the highest yielding crops in the country, and feed much of our country’s food production. Weather can have a significant impact on farming economics as well as commodity and food prices. While droughts wreak havoc on crops throughout planting, growing and harvesting, the same can be said for wet weather and flooding. During the past two months, the central U.S. has been wracked by two powerful storm systems, which brought heavy rain and snow along with blizzard-strength winds. The storms of March 13 and April 10 were so intense that they reached the criteria to be identified as “bomb cyclones.” This heavy moisture from rain and snow, falling on already-saturated ground from heavy rain last fall, caused extensive flooding, highway closures, and destruction of livestock and stored grain. Read more…

 

Can Humans Help Trees Outrun Climate Change? (The New York Times)

 

Foresters began noticing the patches of dying pines and denuded oaks, and grew concerned. Warmer winters and drier summers had sent invasive insects and diseases marching northward, killing the trees. If the dieback continued, some woodlands could become shrub land. Most trees can migrate only as fast as their seeds disperse – and if current warming trends hold, the climate this century will change 10 times faster than many tree species can move, according to one estimate. Rhode Island is already seeing more heat and drought, shifting precipitation and the intensification of plagues such as the red pine scale, a nearly invisible insect carried by wind that can kill a tree in just a few years. The dark synergy of extreme weather and emboldened pests could imperil vast stretches of woodland. Read more…

 

Simultaneous Heatwaves Caused by Anthropogenic Climate Change

(ETH Zurich)

 

Without the climate change caused by human activity, simultaneous heatwaves would not have hit such a large area as they did last summer, say researchers at ETH Zurich. Using observational and model data, the researchers cite the extreme drought around the world stemmed from heat so severe that people died of heatstroke, power generation had to be curtailed, rails and roads started to melt, and forests went up in flames. The heat affected several areas across the temperate zones and the Arctic simultaneously. ETH researchers have concluded that the only explanation of why heat affected so many areas over several months is anthropogenic climate change. The findings were presented by ETH climate researcher Martha Vogel to the European Geosciences Union press conference in Vienna. The paper resulting from the study is currently in review for an academic publication. Read more…

 

New EPA Document Tells Communities to Brace for Climate Change Impacts

(The Washington Post)

 

The EPA published a 150-page document this past week with a straightforward message for coping with the fallout from natural disasters across the country: Start planning for the fact that climate change is going to make these catastrophes worse. The language, included in guidance on how to address the debris left in the wake of floods, hurricanes and wildfires, is at odds with the rhetoric of the EPA’s own leader, Andrew Wheeler. Just last month, Wheeler said in an interview with CBS that “most of the threats from climate change are 50 to 75 years out.” Multiple recent studies have identified how climate change is already affecting the United States and the globe. In the western United States, for example, regional temperatures have increased by almost 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970s, and snowmelt is occurring a month earlier in areas, extending the fire season by three months and quintupling the number of large fires. Another scientific paper, co-authored by EPA researchers, found that unless the United States slashes carbon emissions, climate change will probably cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars annually by 2100. Read more…

 

EPA Scientists Price Out the Cost of Climate Change (LA Times News Service)

 

By the end of the century, the manifold consequences of unchecked climate change will cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars per year, according to a new study by EPA scientists. Those costs will come in the form of water shortages, crippled infrastructure and polluted air that shortens lives, among others, according to the study in the journal, Nature Climate Change. No part of the country will be untouched, the EPA researchers warned. However, they also found that cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and proactively adapting to a warming world, would prevent a lot of the damage, reducing the annual economic toll in some sectors by more than half. Experts called the report the most comprehensive analysis yet of the staggering diversity of societal impacts that climate change will have on the American economy. Read more…

 

Climate Panel Disbanded by White House Regroups to Release Report (CNN)

 

The Trump administration may have shut down the government advisory committee on climate change started by President Obama, but its members considered the work so important that they did not stop working. The Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment was created in 2015 by the Obama administration to help local leaders and policymakers figure out how to apply lessons from the National Climate Assessment. The latest version of that report, released in November, determined that climate change is already hurting the United States and that it could cost the economy hundreds of billions of dollars and will kill thousands of Americans. At the invitation of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, most of the members of the committee reconvened and became the Science to Climate Action Network, also known as SCAN. With the support of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the state of New York and the American Meteorological Society, the advisory committee warns that the country continues to be in harm’s way because of its failure to act. For instance, local leaders don’t have enough data on climate change to make informed decisions, something that the Government Accountability Office has noted in its investigations. Last month, it released its report and recommendations to help policymakers and community leaders better tackle the daunting problems brought by climate change. Read more…

 

Smithfield Foods and RAE Partner to Produce Renewable (Smithfield Foods)

 

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE) have formed a joint venture called Monarch Bioenergy to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) across Smithfield’s hog farms in Missouri. This partnership converts manure collected from Smithfield farms into RNG, while simultaneously delivering ecological services and developing wildlife habitat. Once complete, all Smithfield company-owned finishing farms in Missouri will have the infrastructure to produce RNG, resulting in approximately 1.3 million dekatherms of RNG annually, which is the equivalent to eliminating 130,000 gasoline vehicles. “This joint venture represents our continued commitment to doing business in a way that is good for our planet and its people,” said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer for Smithfield Foods. “This innovative collaboration creates value for our company and our partners, and benefits the environment as we work to feed the world’s growing population.” Read more…

 

‘Why We Need the Feds’: Climate Action Advocate

(Presidential Climate Action Project)

 

Despite the surge of cities, states and businesses stepping up to the front since President Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris agreement, “[i]f it is still possible to win the war against climate change, it will not be done without the U.S. government,” says a leading climate action advocate. In commentary posted on the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP) website, the organization’s executive director, William Becker, said that since Trump’s announcement, more than 3,500 corporate executives, college presidents, mayors and governors signed a declaration of support for climate action. Among them were 125 cities, nine states, more than 900 businesses and investors, and 183 colleges and universities estimated to represent 120 million Americans and more than $6 trillion in the economy. “Many climate activists believe that these non-federal entities can meet America’s obligation under the Paris accord, and perhaps more, without the federal government,” Becker writes. “They are wrong. If it is still possible to win the war against climate change, it will not be done without the U.S. government.” Read more…

 

Study: Conditions Millions of Years Ago Stress Climate Role in Biodiversity (University of Copenhagen)

 

Natural history museum paleontologists in Copenhagen and Helsinki have succeeded in mapping historical biodiversity in unprecedented detail. For the first time, it is now possible to compare the impact of climate on global biodiversity in the distant past – a result that paints a gloomy picture for the preservation of present-day species richness. The study has just been published in the prestigious American journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The diversity of life on Earth is nearly unimaginable. There is such a wealth of organisms that we literally can’t count them all. Nevertheless, there is broad consensus that biodiversity is in decline and that Earth is in the midst of a sixth extinction event – most likely due to global warming. The sixth extinction event reflects the loss of plant and animal species that scientists believe we are now facing. It is an event that, with overwhelming probability, is caused by human activity. The study

has just been published in the prestigious American journal,

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Read more…

 

Grid Modernization Is the Best New Deal (Opinion/Utility Dive)

 

As humanity becomes ever more dependent on the uninterrupted flow of electricity for everything from refrigeration and sewage treatment to control towers and global banking systems, the vulnerability of the grid grows by the day. Failure of the system for extended periods of time would have serious consequences that could shake the stability of food and water supplies, stock markets, public health systems and military readiness. Passing comprehensive federal legislation now in the form of a Grid Modernization Act represents our best opportunity for improving grid stability and resilience. Read more…

 

 

Partner News and CSA Events

 

Third GACSA Annual Forum 2019

Set for June 15-16 in Bonn, Germany

 

The third Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA) Annual Forum will take place on the weekend of June 15-16 at the Hilton Hotel in Bonn, Germany. The Annual Forum is being held to coincide with the Bonn Climate Change Conference from June 17-27 in Bonn, with the hope that GACSA members can arrive two days earlier for the weekend forum prior to the conference.

 

 

This year’s Forum will focus on how GACSA members are supporting the scaling up of climate-smart activities in the implementation of the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture, Gender Action Plan, and Nationally Determined Indicators. This year, GACSA will have a lot to discuss, including the new GACSA Strategic Plan 2018-2019.

 

You may register for the Annual Forum via the online registration form.

The deadline for registration is May 22. After registering, the

[email protected] will send you a confirmation email and Visa letter, if needed.

 

The Forum will be held at the Hilton Bonn, Berliner Freiheit 2, 53111 (+49-228-72690, [email protected]). The hotel is nestled in the heart of the city center and offering stunning views across the River Rhine, an ideal location.

 

The last GACSA Annual Forum in 2017 brought together more than 200 stakeholders to share evidence and experiences related to Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and how CSA solutions can be scaled up. For more background information on the discussions undertaken and outcomes reached at the previous Annual Forum, go to GACSA Annual Forum Summary Report.

 

You can follow all of the 2019 Annual Forum updates on the GACSA website and on Twitter at @GACSACochairs.

 

GACSA is an inclusive, voluntary and action-oriented multi-stakeholder platform on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). Its vision is to improve food security, nutrition and resilience in the face of climate change. GACSA aims to catalyze and help create transformational partnerships to encourage actions that reflect an integrated approach to the three pillars of CSA, 1) sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and livelihoods (i.e. sustainable intensification); 2) enhancing adaptive capacity and improving resilience; and 3) delivering ecosystem services, sequestering carbon, and reducing and/or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions.

 

We encourage our NACSAA partners and other stakeholders to share with us any organization news or events highlighting your role in climate smart agriculture. We look forward to including your information in our monthly newsletter. Simply send your news or event notices to info@SfLDialogue.net.

NACSAA Newsletters