Advanced BioFuels USA

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New Jersey, Senator Cory Booker announced that, if elected as US President, he would “Immediately end the granting of unwarranted RFS small refinery waivers to big oil companies, and substantially increase funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

Booker became the second US presidential candidate to commit to stopping what he termed the “small refinery waivers to big oil companies”. Last week, Senator Amy  Klobuchar of Minnesota said that if elected President in 2020,  in her first 100 days in office she would order a moratorium on oil refinery waivers issued under the Renewable Fuel Standard, restore the biomass-based diesel tax credit, work to expand availability of E15 ethanol in the United States.

Booker’s proposed action on the RFS and REAP were highlights in a comprehensive $3 trillion plan to “to Address the Threat of Climate Change and Build 100% Clean Energy Economy by 2045”, and you can read the full plan here.

The bipartisan push to stop the waivers

In July the Digest reported that “contrary to assertions by the EPA, the Energy Department confirmed in a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that the EPA has issued so-called economic hardship exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to small refineries, often owned by billion-dollar oil companies, even when the Energy Department found that the refineries faced little or no actual ‘hardship’.”

…

Booker said, “We are facing a dual crisis of climate change and economic inequality. Without immediate action, we risk an incredible human toll from disasters, health impacts, rising national security threats, and trillions of dollars in economic losses. To end the real and growing threat of climate change and to create a more just country for everyone, we must heal these past mistakes and act boldly to create a green and equitable future. That’s exactly what I’ll do as president.”

Booker’s plan would “build an economy that is 100% powered by clean energy and brings millions of jobs and investment to every corner of the country,” he said, with “unprecedented investment in clean energy, energy storage, and electric vehicles–the kind of technology and infrastructure that will power a carbon-free economy. Booker also committed to a carbon fee on fossil fuel sources at the coal mine, natural gas wellhead and oil refinery, and would fund a Moonshot Hub in all 50 states, each charged with tackling the most important and difficult challenges in basic science, applied research, manufacturing, and commercialization in their dedicated field.

Booker also said he would hal all fossil fuel subsidies, bar new fossil fuel leases, ban fracking and institute a progressive carbon dividend.

The Bottom Line

Much of what the Senator proposed — but not all — could come from executive action at the White House.

…

Action on the RFS is action from EPA and would be something that could be accomplished by executive action immediately in 2021 after a change in power at the White House.  READ MORE

Senator Cory Booker Also Reveals Climate Plan Ahead of CNN Climate Town Hall (Our Daily Planet)