United States: Climate Policies & Agriculture

Climate policy in the United States

Climate governance in the United States relies on a decentralized legal and institutional framework involving the federal government, the states, and local authorities. At the federal level, climate policy has not been built around a single overarching law dedicated to climate change, but rather through various laws, administrative regulations, executive branch actions, and policies implemented by federal agencies. The Clean Air Act, in particular, constitutes one of the main legal foundations for federal regulatory action concerning air emissions. The Massachusetts v. EPA also played a pivotal role by recognizing that greenhouse gases could fall under the definition of air pollutants provided by this law, paving the way for their regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Clark et al., 2021).

Federal climate governance also includes a significant scientific and interagency architecture. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 established the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which coordinates federal research on global change. The program brings together several federal agencies and departments and relies on interagency coordinating groups. The framework established by this law also provides for the regular conduct of the National Climate Assessment (NCA), designed to evaluate the effects of global change on the environment, economy, and society of the United States (Kynett, 2025).

The American system is also characterized by the importance of states and local authorities in implementing climate policies. States can develop their own policies and instruments, particularly in the areas of energy, transportation, power plant emissions, and building standards. American climate policy thus relies on the interaction between Congress, the executive branch, federal agencies, scientific and interagency bodies, as well as state and local governments (Clark et al., 2021; Kynett, 2025).

Clark, CE, Croft, GK, Lattanzio, RK, Leggett, JA, Miller, RS, Procita, K., & Ramseur, JL (2021). US climate change policy (CRS Report No. R46947). Congressional Research Service. Congressional Research Service — US Climate Change Policy
Kynett, K. G. (2025). US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP): Overview and considerations for Congress (CRS Report No. R48478). Congressional Research Service. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48478

National climate policy timeline

1990

Congress adopts the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (PL 101-606), which officially establishes the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).

The program is responsible for coordinating and integrating federal research on global change and providing scientific information useful for public policy development.

The USGCRP becomes a platform for coordinating federal research, bringing together different agencies and departments.

The program currently coordinates global change research activities from 15 federal agencies and departments and organizes inter-institutional working groups.

The Global Change Research Act mandates the periodic completion of a scientific assessment of global changes and their consequences.

This obligation will give rise to the various editions of the National Climate Assessment (NCA).

1992

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The United States participates in the development of the international framework for combating climate change established by the UNFCCC.

2007

Massachusetts v. EPA.

The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that greenhouse gases can be considered air pollutants under the Clean Air Act and that the EPA has the authority to regulate emissions from motor vehicles, subject to the conditions set forth by law. This decision marks a turning point in the development of direct federal regulation of greenhouse gases.

2009

Following the Massachusetts v. EPA, the EPA concluded that emissions of several greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and well-being.

This administrative decision then provided a basis for several federal emissions regulations.

2015 – 2016

Adoption of the Paris Agreement within the framework of the UNFCCC.

2020

First withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

The US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, announced in 2017, became effective in November 2020.

2021

Back to the Paris Agreement.

The United States rejoined the Paris Agreement on February 19, 2021.

2025

National Climate Assessment.

The institutional transformations of the USGCRP raise questions about the continuation of the Sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA6) and, more generally, the future of federal scientific climate assessments.

The instruments studied in the United States

Agricultural Stewardship Tax Credit (ASTC)

Economic incentive: encouraging the adoption of agricultural practices that are favorable to the climate and soil health
Learn more : Agricultural Stewardship Tax Credit (ASTC)
Saving Tomorrow's Agriculture Resources (STAR)

The system is based on a framework combining regulation, voluntary participation and economic incentives.
Learn more : Saving Tomorrow's Agriculture Resources (STAR)
Soil Health Advisory Committee

Self-assessment of soil quality through an online rating system aimed at helping farmers understand and improve their soil health practices.
Learn more : Soil Health Advisory Committee