Climate Change

The Rural Climate Dialogues

Climate change offers an opportunity to engage differently with rural communities in a way that focuses on solutions rather than assigning blame. Instead of trying to “sell” climate policy to rural communities, we must engage organizations and leaders rooted in rural areas in the development stage to identify solutions that work for them. As important, we need community-level engagement tools designed to overcome our current toxic political environment and map out rural-appropriate responses to climate change that feed up into policy and concrete action.

The Rural Climate Dialogues: Lessons for rural climate leadership

This year has demonstrated the devastating impacts of climate change on rural communities, from the Iowa derecho to wildfires raging across the west. Despite the increase in extreme weather events, longstanding cultural and political obstacles have hindered support for climate action in rural communities.

New Report Charts Roadmap for Rural Climate Engagement

Download a PDF of the press release. 

[WATCH] Cimpatico Studios Interview on the Growing Climate Solutions Act

On October 15, 2020, IATP's Dr. Steve Suppan participated in an interview with Cimpatico Studios. Dr. Suppan unpackeded key features of the 2020 Growing Climate Solutions Act, discussed the bill’s climate and economic goals, and provided analysis of the legislation’s ability to meet those goals through currently drafted provisions. 

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Comments on the Environmental Assessment Worksheet for Waukon Dairy

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) thanks the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for the opportunity to comment on the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for Riverview’s proposed Waukon Dairy in Norman County. 

IATP Welcomes CFTC Advisory Committee Report on Climate-Related Financial Risk

MINNEAPOLIS—On September 9, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a much-anticipated advisory report, Managing Climate R

US agricultural finance for climate resilience

Climate change is a daily presence in the work of farmers, ranchers and farmworkers. In 2018, primary agricultural production (and forestry) accounted for about 10.5% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and offset about 11.6% of all U.S.

Climate Risk Ignored in Agricultural Finance Poses Hazards to Farmers and Rural Communities

MINNEAPOLIS—Today, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) released a paper emphasizing the urgent need for U.S.

Agricultural Finance for Climate Resilience

U.S. agricultural financial policy and institutions, both public and private, have not yet adapted to climate change. Instead, Congress responds to more frequent extreme weather events with larger and increasingly frequent ad hoc disaster payments and increasing subsidies for private crop insurance from taxpayer funds. These short-term responses are not sustainable fiscally, economically or environmentally. 

Senate releases climate policy report — what does it say about agriculture?

Earlier this summer, the House of Representatives released a long-awaited report charting a policy path on climate change. Last week, the Senate released its own set of ideas.