Syracuse University is in group receiving $60 million USDA grant to promote climate-smart commodities

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Millions in federal funding will benefit a multi-university project that seeks to increase supply and demand for climate-smart commodities produced and manufactured in New York.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities awarded the project $60 million, Syracuse University said in its announcement. The university said it is a “leading partner” in the effort.

The $60 million project is led by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

A climate-smart commodity is an agricultural commodity that is produced using farming, ranching or forestry practices that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions or sequester carbon, Syracuse said. As project partner, Syracuse University will lead one of the four primary focus areas. Over the next five years, Syracuse researchers will develop and expand existing markets and develop new markets for climate-smart commodities produced in New York state — “benefiting the environment, farmers and manufacturing sectors alike,” the university contended.

Syracuse University is collaborating with Cornell University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, New York State agencies, and additional public and private partners on this effort.

The group from Syracuse University includes faculty and student researchers from the Maxwell School; School of Information Studies; S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications; and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. In addition, the team will work in partnership with Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad to “develop a pipeline of new green tech and climate-smart innovators with a focus on developing new climate-smart businesses in underserved communities,” Syracuse University said.