Official says Alberta’s agriculture sector needs to be involved in offering the government advice on energy projects or sustainable farming
CAMROSE, Alta. — Climate change policy is reality for Canadian farmers so their energies should be directed toward figuring out how to make it work for them, said the president of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture.
“Some people don’t like to accept the reality, but it is here,” said Lynn Jacobsen.
Alberta introduced its carbon levy Jan. 1 but no one is sure how it might affect farmers’ bottom lines or their ability to compete. The provincial government has promised that the money collected, which is estimated at $1.5 billion to $2 billion annually, will be used to support renewable energy projects and research.
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“At this point in time, we would rather take the government at their word that this is a levy and this money will be returned to producers for projects,” said Jacobson in an interview during the federation’s annual meeting in Camrose Jan. 18-19.
“The true facts of the actual costs haven’t been well known,” he said.
Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, told the meeting that carbon policy is changing quickly and farmers need to be involved to make sure those policies do not damage Western Canada’s ability to produce enough food for the world.
“If people don’t have food it is pretty hard to sustain things,” said Lewis. “If we are going to be at the table as farmers we have to accept this is the reality of where we are at,” he said.
Alberta’s carbon levy is part of the NDP government’s climate leadership plan released in 2015.
As of Jan. 1, a $20 per tonne carbon price was implemented. It increases to $30 per tonne next year and will increase over time to keep pace with inflation.
A carbon plan has been in development since 2003 when the Progressive Conservative government under former Premier Ralph Klein passed the Climate Change and Emissions Management Act.
Canada produced 726 million tonnes of carbon last year and Alberta contributed 37 percent of that. The oilsands, gas and oil production and electricity generation contribute most emissions.
The oilsands have been limited to 100 megatonnes of emissions per year. Currently, the oilsands emit about 70 megatonnes of greenhouse gases. Agriculture is responsible for about nine percent of total emissions.
“If we look at a global context, agriculture is about 10 percent of global emissions depending where you are,” said Goddard.
Some countries’ agriculture sectors are high carbon emitters. For example, Ireland’s agriculture sector is responsible for about 35 percent and New Zealand is at least 40 percent.
Alberta’s agriculture emissions are higher than some other provinces because there is more livestock releasing more methane.
Some delegates at the meeting said gross emission and net emission calculations should be considered. The gross numbers may not change but with improved or efficient farming and energy use, net emissions could be lowered.
“Agriculture is becoming less emission intense based on production. We are producing more for not much more cost in energy,” Goddard said.
In Alberta, those releasing more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year must reduce their emissions by 12 percent below their base line and can get performance credits if they succeed in reducing it even more.
They can use offsets, such as buying credits from farmers for bona fide projects, or pay $15 per tonne, which goes into a technology fund to pay for research.
“We are at the cusp for a huge amount of R and D type of investment. There will be a big shift in the economy with mixed energy rather than a single energy source,” said Goddard.
Alberta has a carbon market and brokerage companies have formed to buy credits from farmers and then resell them to polluters as carbon offsets.
The government wants proof that practices such as minimum tillage are being used and a special formula has been created to figure out payments to farmers, said Mark Vass of the Carbon Credit Solutions.
“The theory is that you are se-questering carbon in the soil so the least amount of disturbance keeps carbon in the soil,” he said.
The brokerage firm sells the credits to polluters, collects a commission of 35 percent and pays the farmer the remainder. A farmer could expect around $1.47 per acre under this scheme.
Carbon Credit Solutions has 2,400 farm clients that manage more than eight million acres of land, said Vass.
