The transition team for the Biden Administration introduced the Climate 21 Project as the blueprint for how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can help advance the role of agriculture and forestry to mitigate and adapt to climate change pressures. The key program recommendations and opportunities for the USDA signal climate change as a top priority for the department. This order from the Secretary directs the department to invest in natural climate solutions, incentivize climate smart agriculture and rural investment through financial tools, decarbonize rural energy and promote green energy and smart grids, and prioritize federal investment to address wildfire. Agricultural science and technology play a critical role in each of these priorities that the administration plans to implement in the first 100 days.

This report will summarize for each of the key recommendations and priorities where current agricultural science and technology for plant and animal production can be applied and where new investments will be critical to meeting the goals of the administration. Topics covered includes: