TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports S. 1251, the “Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2021,” important, bipartisan legislation that targets greenhouse gas emissions. The Chamber will consider including votes on this legislation in our annual “How They Voted” scorecard.
The Chamber’s principles on climate policy focus on market-based mechanisms to drive greenhouse gas emissions reductions. This bill includes key issues of importance to the business community that are aligned with these priorities. The Growing Climate Solutions Act would:
- Establish a U.S. Department of Agriculture technical assistance and certification program to assist farmers, forest managers, and landowners seeking to participate in voluntary carbon markets to reduce emissions;
- Call for a study ahead of implementation to ensure there are no negative impacts on voluntary carbon markets;
- Require that users are transparent and make good faith efforts to provide accurate information on offsets and emissions reductions; and
- Create an advisory council with majority agriculture and landowner representatives.
Through its innovative framework that rewards farmers and other land managers for taking voluntary actions to reduce emissions, this legislation would facilitate a new, cost-effective option for addressing climate change. Many businesses are depending on the establishment of such voluntary offset markets to meet their ambitious climate commitments. Promoting responsible resource management through financial incentives for voluntary conservation and sustainable land-use practices is a win-win policy that will benefit American agriculture, their supply chain, and the broader business community as well as the environment.
We urge you to reject amendments that would undo this carefully crafted legislation. In particular, the Chamber opposes an amendment that may be offered by Senator Lee that would be detrimental to the effective implementation of the carbon offset program central to the bill.
The Chamber urges you to vote “yes” on S. 1251.
Sincerely,
Jack Howard
Senior Vice President
Government Affairs
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
