A novel program for sustainably grown rice is opening the door for U.S. agriculture to participate in carbon trading markets. These rice fields are near Sacramento, California. Credit: Mark Miller/CC-BY-3.0 U.S. Rice Farmers Turn Sustainability into Carbon Credits, with Microsoft as First Buyer By changing how they use water, rice growers in Arkansas, Mississippi and California cut their methane emissions and opened a door for agriculture in carbon markets. By Georgina Gustin Follow @georgina_gustin Jun 26, 2017 https://insideclimatenews.org/news/...sions-carbon-trading-microsoft-climate-change " The transaction this month was the first of its kind and, in the complex and controversial world of carbon markets, it represents a milestone for agriculture." Q Rice production emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas with significantly more warming power than carbon dioxide over a shorter period, though there is far less of it in the atmosphere. Globally, methane accounts for about 16 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. The largest human-caused methane source is the oil and gas industry (about 33 percent), but raising livestock comes a close second (27 percent), and rice production alone contributes 9 percent of methane emissions. UQ