Soil and climate change: evolving policy landscapes and intersections in the United States (1933–2024)

Today, the growing global recognition of the critical connections between soil health and climate change is driving widespread acceptance of soil carbon sequestration as an integral component of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and practices globally. This article provides a brief examination of the historical evolution of federal United States (US) policy on soil carbon sequestration, tracing its origins from twentieth-century soil conservation policies that sought to address soil erosion to today’s focus on nature-based climate solutions. This shift acknowledges climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’ that continues to exacerbate land degradation and food insecurity globally. The article presents an overview of some of the major legislative initiatives and programs to date, including the landmark 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Energy EarthShots™ initiatives to demonstrate how soil health has become central to US mitigation and adaptation strategies. Further, this analysis identifies major impediments to market-based soil carbon sequestration approaches and the risks of corporate greenwashing that could potentially undermine credibility of soil carbon sequestration as a component of nature-based climate change mitigation practices.