Legislative and Economic Impacts on Land Management and Carbon Dynamics in the United States
Tristram
O
West, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, westto@ornl.gov
(Presenting)
Chad
Hellwinckel, University of Tennessee, chellwin@utk.edu
Varaprasad
Bandaru, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, bandaruv@ornl.gov
Craig
Brandt, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, brandtcc@ornl.gov
Daniel
De La Torre Ugarte, University of Tennessee, danieltu@utk.edu
Current and proposed legislation are expected to significantly impact changes in land management. The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) is expected to redistribute cropland for production of dedicated energy crops. The American Clean Energy Security Act (ACES) may provide incentives for terrestrial carbon sequestration and net reductions in CO2 emissions. Will these two pieces of legislation work synergistically to reduce net carbon emissions? We have combined fossil CO2 emissions and terrestrial carbon dynamics with land management data, satellite remote sensing, and socio-economic modeling to estimate changes in carbon fluxes resulting from legislation promoting climate mitigation activities. Under ACES, a cap-and-trade program would be established for reducing carbon emissions. However, if carbon is regulated as an air pollutant, a cap-and-regulate program would be implemented. We present national estimates of carbon-equivalent emissions under several scenarios, including baseline conditions, cap-and-trade, and cap-and-regulate.
Presentation Type: Poster
Poster Session: Carbon Cycle Science
NASA TE Funded Awards Represented:
NONE: Related Activity or Previously Funded TE Award