Reports suggest there is a growing divide amongst US farmers and agribusiness about whether or not the proposed US ETS will benefit farmers. View the rest of the post here

Farmers in both New Zealand and the USA are getting more concerned about the possible impact of their respective climate change policy proposals on the farm sector. New Zealand farmers are reacting to a recent statement by NZ Climate Change Minister Nick Smith that farming will have to be in the ETS, while US farmers are worried the promised money from carbon offsets might never eventuate. View the rest of the post here

The New Zealand Climate Change Minister Nick Smith has provided a strong hint that agriculture will be included in the New Zealand ETS, despite the hopes of New Zealand farm groups that the sector would be included. New Zealand is currently reviewing its climate change policies, with the outcome of that review anticipated in the next few months. View the rest of the post here

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has signalled the Opposition is prepared to negotiate amendments that could see Australian Climate Change legislation passed by the Parliament during August. The Opposition leader has released a list of nine 'principles' that would form the basis of amendments the Opposition may be prepared to agree to in order to allow the legislation to pass. View the rest of the post here

US Climate change legislation could deliver a net $US 1 billion increase in annual revenue for US farmers by 2015, increasing to $20 billion a year by 2050, according to recent testimony by US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to the US Senate Agriculture Committee. View the rest of the post here

The UK Government has released its Low Carbon Transition Plan, spelling out how it will achieve future greenhouse emission reductions. In the Chapter on agriculture, the UK Government notes that there are limits to the emission reduction that can be achieved in complex biloogical systems such as agriculture, and also the need to balance a desire to reduce agriculture-sector emissions against a future need to produce food for a growing world population. View the rest of the post here

Will the promised new carbon offset revenue to be received by US farmers simply replace existing farm subsidies, and leave US farmers worse off because of higher input costs? This was foreshadowed in a speech US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made earlier this year, when he urged farmers to look at climate legislation as a potential opportunity, while at the same time warning them that the generous subsidies available under the US Farm Bill would come under considerable pressure.  View the rest of the post here

Iowa State University agricultural academic Bruce Babcock believes the impact of the proposed US climate change legislation on US farmers will be minor. US agriculture seems to be much better treated by their proposed legislation than will be the case in Australia. View the rest of the post here

Meat and Wool New Zealand has urged the NZ government to give full consideration to environmental and economic implications in setting a 202 emission target for the nation. Chairman Mike Petersen spelled out the potentially large implications for New Zealand livestock farmers of an aggressive emission target, and also highlighted that few other nations around the world are even considering including agriculture in an ETS. View the rest of the post here

Several recent articles published in Australia and internationally have focused on the role of methane in global warming, and in particular the role of methane from ruminant livestock. A recent piece in the New Scientist argues that the Global Warming Potential of methane (methane is allocated a GWP of 21 or 23 by the IPCC) is understated because it has a much higher warming potential (above 70) for the short period (10-12 years) that it stays in the atmosphere, and that there should be a much greater focus on reducing methane emissions instead of carbon dioxide emissions. View the rest of the post here