Impacts of AB 32 on Agriculture

California climate policies under the implementation of AB 32 have the potential for significant effects on agriculture in California. Although much of agricultural production and processing will not fall under mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) emission caps, the Climate Change Scoping Plan, developed to implement AB 32, includes: (a) voluntary measures for GHG reductions in agriculture, (b) potential for supplying GHG offsets to capped industries and firms, (c) GHG emission regulations affecting producers and processors, and, perhaps most importantly, (d) increases in costs of energy inputs that will affect farming and processing industries. This article focuses specifically on likely effects of the implementation of AB 32 on agriculture in California, and does not deal with the effects of agriculture on climate change or the effects of climate change itself on agriculture. Details of implementation are not yet known and many potential effects have not been studied in detail. Nonetheless, we consider potential impacts on the agricultural economy and consequent effects on the environment, including global emissions.