WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture announced on July 12 that it plans to invest $300 million to measure, monitor, report and verify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration in climate-smart agriculture and forestry.

The money for this project will come from the Inflation Reduction Act. In total the Inflation Reduction Act provided almost $20 billion in overall investments to advance climate-smart agricultural practices.

During this announcement, the agency also revealed the Federal Strategy to Advance Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Monitoring for the Agriculture and Forest Sectors.

“One of the big remaining technological challenges for tackling the climate crisis is ensuring that natural solutions in agriculture and forestry are working well,” said John Podesta, senior advisor to President Biden for clean energy innovation and implementation. “Today’s USDA announcement of $300 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to measure and verify emissions from those sectors is a big step in the right direction.”

The Biden Administration proposed a goal of achieving a 50% to 52% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to levels in 2005.

The agency detailed some areas that it will look at under climate-smart agriculture, including established soil carbon monitoring and a Greenhouse Gas Research Network. USDA also wants to expand data management, infrastructure, capacity and improve models and tools for assessing GHG outcomes.