An Overview of Carbon Offsets from Agriculture

Posted: 22 Sep 2012

See all articles by Jimena González-Ramírez

Jimena González-Ramírez

Iowa State University

Catherine L. Kling

Iowa State University - Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD); Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Adriana Valcu

Iowa State University

Date Written: August 2012

Abstract

Although climate change has largely been removed from the federal policy agenda of the United States in the near term, the continued reliance on fossil fuels as a dominant energy source leaves many analysts to conclude that climate policy will eventually reappear on that agenda. We present a review of recent research related to the design and implementation of one instrument for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction: offsets. As these are implemented, policy makers must understand the way these programs work. In this review, we describe the basic features of carbon offset markets, along with the potential supply of offsets from agricultural sources and associated cost considerations. In this discussion we highlight the role of institutional design of contracts and transactions costs. We then turn to the benefits of including offsets in policies to reduce GHGs and complete the review with a discussion of the challenges in implementing the programs.

Suggested Citation

González-Ramírez, Jimena and Kling, Catherine L. and Valcu, Adriana, An Overview of Carbon Offsets from Agriculture (August 2012). Annual Review of Resource Economics, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 145-160, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2149973 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-083110-120016

Jimena González-Ramírez (Contact Author)

Iowa State University ( email )

613 Wallace Road
Ames, IA 50011-2063
United States

Catherine L. Kling

Iowa State University - Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) ( email )

Ames, IA 50011
United States

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14850
United States

Adriana Valcu

Iowa State University ( email )

613 Wallace Road
Ames, IA 50011-2063
United States

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