Building the Future from the Ground Up
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Chuck Hassebrook - Biochar Policy Project Lead

Bipartisan Legislation to Support Biochar Under Discussion

by Chuck Hassebrook
NCAT Biochar Policy Project Lead

 

There are not many climate solutions that unite Republicans and Democrats in Congress. But biochar does because it’s a practical way to build healthy soils, create new markets for farmers and foresters and remove carbon from the atmosphere.

 

That bipartisan support is critical because the potential of biochar will not be fully realized without supportive policies to help the industry scale-up. Three critical needs should be addressed by policy makers:

 

  • Coordinated, well-funded federal research programs to close the critical knowledge gaps on biochar,
  • Flexible conservation cost share and incentive payments for farmers, ranchers and foresters to use biochar, and
  • Equitable tax incentives for carbon dioxide removal through biochar.

Policy changes addressing each of these needs are under discussion in Washington and drawing bipartisan support.

 

Coordinated Federal Research 

A growing body of research demonstrates that appropriately designed biochar can:

 

  • Build the health and productivity of soil;
  • Sequester carbon in soil for hundreds to thousands of years;
  • Slow breakdown of soil carbon from crop residue and cover crops, keeping carbon out of the atmosphere and in soil improving its health; and
  • Reduce soil emissions of nitrous oxide and methane, both powerful greenhouse gases.

 

Research results on biochar have been mixed, however, because the characteristics of biochar vary, depending on the feedstock from which it was produced and the process used. Furthermore, the effects of each type of biochar can vary depending on soil types and conditions.

 

Many farmers and ranchers will be reluctant to apply biochar until there is evidence that a particular type of biochar will have positive results in their soil and circumstances.

 

Providing that evidence is critical to scaling up production and use of biochar. The Biochar Research Network Act has been introduced in Congress to address that need. It would establish a coordinated, multi-site research program through the USDA Agricultural Research Service, drawing on its nation’s wide network of research farms. The research would evaluate the effects of a common set of diverse biochar types at sites across the nation with varying soil and circumstances. It would document effects on carbon sequestration, soil emissions of greenhouse gases and soil health and productivity.

 

The Act has strong bipartisan support. Some of the sponsors are Republicans Chuck Grassley (IA), John Thune (SD), Marianette Miller Meeks (IA), Randy Feenstra (IA) and Dan Newhouse (WA), together with Democrats Jon Tester (MT), Sherrod Brown (OH), Chellie Pingree (ME), Kim Schrier (WA) and Jim Costa (CA).

 

Efforts are also underway to win funding for multi-site biochar research through the annual federal appropriations process. And we’re working directly with the Agricultural Research Service to provide input as it develops its multiyear biochar research strategy.

 

In addition, we have asked USDA to put more emphasis on biochar in its competitive grants programs that fund research at agricultural colleges and elsewhere. USDA has the discretion to prioritize critical areas of research for funding. That discretion should be used to make biochar a research priority because of its unmatched potential to pull carbon from the atmosphere and use it to build healthy and productive soil.

 

Added Benefits of the Proposed Research  – The Biochar Research Network Act could increase the value of carbon removal credits for biochar. In the current market, buyers of carbon removal credits are paying $150 per ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere, which translates to $300 per ton of biochar. That considers only the carbon sequestered in the biochar.

 

Those payments could be enhanced if research can document that some biochars consistently reduce nitrous oxide and methane emissions from soil. Both are potent greenhouse gases. Likewise, carbon credits could be enhanced by research demonstrating that some biochars slow breakdown of soil carbon from crop residue and cover crops.

 

 

The 45Q Tax Credit

 

Congress should address an oversight in existing tax policy by making biochar eligible for the carbon removal tax credit. Known as 45Q, it provides a substantial incentive for capturing carbon and securing it in useful products or in geologic storage such as depleted oil and gas wells. It includes direct air capture machines that pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But carbon removal through biochar is excluded.

 

Bipartisan members of Congress are interested in changing that. Applying the credit to biochar would provide $130 per ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere, or roughly $260 per ton of biochar. It is only right for Congress to level the playing field between biochar and other means of carbon dioxide removal.

 

 

Carbon Amendment Practice Standard 336

 

The most positive policy development for biochar to date is Carbon Amendment Practice Standard 336 established by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

 

Practice Standard 336 makes farmers and ranchers who use biochar eligible for USDA payments through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and other conservation programs. It also extends funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and the Conservation Innovation Grants Program to projects that include biochar.

 

Like any new program, 336 needs some fine tuning. One needed refinement is to remove the exclusion on biochar produced from crop residue. The exclusion reflects concerns that harvesting excessive amounts of crop residue can degrade soil. Accordingly, we are urging NRCS to remove the prohibition, but only if the crop residue is removed under a conservation plan that limits erosion to the Soil Loss Tolerance Level and builds soil carbon.

 

With that requirement, producing biochar from crop residue will have a net positive effect on soil health. Crop residue is good for soil, but it largely decomposes within a few years. Converting a portion of crop residue to soil-applied biochar, which lasts for hundreds to thousands of years, will have a more positive and lasting effect on soil.

 

Denying conservation payments for use of biochar produced from crop residue prevents the improvements in soil health and carbon sequestration that could be realized. The effect will be particularly acute in regions that lack significant woody biomass for biochar production, such as much of the Corn Belt.

 

 

Biochar Policy Project

 

The Biochar Policy Project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology is working to advance each of these reforms in Washington. We’re drawing broad support for beefing-up biochar research, refining Carbon Amendment Practice Standard 336 and making biochar eligible for the 45Q carbon removal tax credit. Bringing these reforms to fruition will unleash the potential of biochar to build healthy soils and address climate change.

 

Sign up  here  to receive updates on the latest NCAT policy developments on biochar.

 

A short-form version of this article appeared in the August 2024 USBI Newsletter.