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EPA analysis shows climate bill benefits

As the Senate Environment Committee begins another round of hearings on climate change legislation this week, the EPA has released a new analysis of the current Senate bill that shows higher and more widespread income potential for agriculture.

According to a report on DTN, the EPA analysis shows farmers could receive one-point-two billion dollars of initial income benefits from the Senate bill, and potential benefits of 18-billion dollars over time.  The study was conducted by Duke University and Texas A & M University.  It concludes that the vast majority of producers across the U.S.—both crop and livestock—would benefit from the bill.

That study counters one done earlier by the Agriculture and Food Policy Center, also at Texas A & M.  It showed more than two-thirds of farms would have lower ending cash reserves under the House climate bill.  EPA says the new analysis used a model that considered potential revenue from the sale of offsets and producer response to changing input costs.

Farm groups disagree on costs versus returns associated with climate change legislation.  Those opposed to the bill, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, argue climate legislation will only lead to higher costs without actually leading to environmental benefits.  Farm Bureau has initiated a campaign to defeat the legislation called “Don’t Cap Our Future”.  American Farm Bureau president Bob Stallman is slated to testify before the Senate Environment Committee on the legislation later this week.