Biofuels and Greenhouse Gas Emissions on a Collision Course

Agriculture, Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Federal Legislation, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability

June 24, 2009

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by Dr. Robert Wisner, Biofuels Economist, Ag Marketing Resource Center, Iowa State University The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 (1) requires a gradual increase in the volume of various kinds of biofuels to be blended with U.S. motor fuels in the next several years. The gradual increase was designed to provide time for technology development and industry growth. At the same time, the EISA – unless modified – requires a one-step adjustment in greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, rather than a gradual phase-in to reflect less than instantaneous technological progress. The EISA also implicitly assumes that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the baseline that is used to evaluate biofuels will be unchanged in the future. It is debatable whether that assumption is valid.

These two different sets of mandates are now on a collision course. If changes are not made, their different paths could slow or halt the growth of some parts of the biofuels industry. The sectors of the industry to be most immediately affected are Midwest corn-starch ethanol and biodiesel from vegetable oils.

… Indirect land use impact is an important component of the California estimated emissions disadvantage from corn-starch ethanol. Scientists and economists are not in universal agreement on ways of measuring this impact. Much more research is needed before universally acceptable indirect land use impact assessments are available. With the rapid rate at which GHG emissions policy is moving forward, there is an urgent need for more research on indirect land use impacts. READ MORE

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