KANSAS FARMERS’ CO2 TO CHI CLIMATE EXCHANGE

More on the Chicago Climate Exchange, as discussed in the cap-and-trade post above.

Carbon credit program open to Kansas farmers
Phyllis Jacobs Griekspoor, April 22, 2007 (Wichita Eagle)

WHO
The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), Iowa Farm Bureau, National Farmers Union, farmers of central and western Kansas.

WHAT
CCX, the world's first and North America's only voluntary, legally binding registry and trading program for greenhouse gas emissions, has invited Kansas farmers to participate. The Farm Bureau and the Farmers Union are validating agreements for farmers who are willing to leave contracted lands unturned.

WHEN
CCX has been trading greenhouse gas emissions since 2003.

WHERE
The Chicago Climate Exchange, based in Chicago, Illinois, conducts an international trade in carbon-offset commodities, allowing participants to establish voluntary caps on their emissions.

WHY
Untilled farmland keeps the soil’s CO2 sequestered rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. The farmers receive payment from investors on the Climate Exchange. The corporate and private investors are paying to offset emissions released in their day-to-day lives or professional activities.
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QUOTES
“One of the most recent corporate additions to the exchange is Cargill Inc. It joined the exchange in March, agreeing to achieve a 6 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at its U.S. operations by 2010. Cargill…has meatpacking, grain handling, flour milling and soybean crushing operations in Kansas. Cargill said it has established internal goals to improve energy efficiency, increase use of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas globally…”