Climate Change

House climate report sets path for 2021 — but is it enough?

With special thanks to Tara Ritter, Karen Hansen-Kuhn and Steve Suppan, who contributed to this article.

Public money to plunder the planet: development banks fund Big Meat and Dairy

A flurry of recent news shows that international development banks have ramped up public money to factory farms and mega-dairies in the last decade.

Submission to the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its Position Paper: EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025

To read our submission to the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its Position Paper: EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025, please click here. 

Letter to the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) thanks the Committee for seeking input on the climate crisis, the most critical challenge of our time. IATP is a 34-year-old non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. IATP works to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.

Milking the Planet

Executive Summary

New Report Finds Dramatic Increase in Global Dairy Companies' Emissions as Overproduction Forces Small Farms Out of Business

BERLIN/MINNEAPOLIS—A new report released today by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) reveals that the total combined greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 13 of the largest dairy corporations rose by 11% in just two years (2015-2017), with some increasing their emissions by 30%.

Senate climate bill prioritizes markets over the climate

Today, Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Braun (R-IN) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC) introduced the Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill that would create a certification program through USDA to facilitate farmer participation in voluntary carbon mark

Shocking the markets: Excessive speculation and climate change

On May 13, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) issued a warning to the trading platforms, clearing organizations (the back office processing of trades) and futures cont

Letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Markets Risk Advisory Committee's Climate Related Market Risk Subcommittee

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) appreciates the opportunity to respond to the issues identified in the Notice. IATP first wrote on June 19, 2019 to the Commission on these issues. We are responding to four of five topics outlined in the Notice, plus our “Urgency and ambition” topic. IATP hopes that these brief comments will help the Subcommittee prepare its report for MRAC. We look forward to reading the report and to commenting on the CFTC’s proposals for implementing the “actionable materials” recommended by MRAC following its review of the report.

Minnesota regulators side with mega-farm

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) released its decision last week on whether to permit Daley Farms, one of the largest dairies in the state, to expand from 1,500 to 4,000 cows. Despite concerns about climate change and water quality impacts of industrial feedlots, the agency decided to award Daley Farms a permit to expand.