Can Farmers Rely on Efficiency Gains to Meet Cap and Trade Demands?
Nicolas Loris /
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Select Committee on Global Warming met last week to discuss the impacts of global warming on agriculture and forestry bill. Some of the more interesting testimony came from Ford B. West, President of The Fertilizer Institute, who elaborated on the challenges cap-and-trade legislation presents to the fertilizer industry. West began by noting his industry’s significant efficiency improvements in its use of energy over the past 23 years. However, he cautioned that government policy cannot count on future efficiency improvements occurring at the same pace as in the past. He explained,
While our industry is committed to additional energy efficiency projects, there will come a point where, due to the constraints of chemistry, the U.S. fertilizer industry will not be able to achieve additional efficiency gains.”