by Juliet Eliperin (Washington Post) More than a decade ago in the northeast corner of Bolivia, a group of polluters and environmentalists joined forces in the first large-scale experiment to curb climate change with a strategy that promised to suit
(Advanced Biofuels USA) A study published in Science magazine promotes a policy which would penalize American biofuels industries in US legislation and regulation and in international global climate change agreements. Advanced Biofuels USA would like to point out two items
by Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) The world's policymakers and scientists have made a critical error in how they count biofuels' contribution to human-generated greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science. ... (Steven P.) Hamburg, (chief scientist
Tom Buis (Growth Energy) “Ethanol is part of the natural carbon cycle. It has taken the lifetime of our planet to produce the oil that is in the ground. Biofuels come from the top of the earth, with emissions that
(Renewable Fuels Association) Biofuels produced from biomass feedstocks (i.e. plant matter) are, by definition, carbon neutral because carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions from the combustion of biofuels are readily absorbed by growing plants. As such, the tailpipe emissions resulting from the use
(Nitrogen News)... “The error is serious, but we can fix it,” said lead author Tim Searchinger, a research scholar at Princeton University and a fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. “The solution is to count all the
by Keith Johnson (Wall Street Journal) The law of unintended consequences strikes yet again. Global plans to tackle climate change, from the Kyoto Protocol to the recently-passed Waxman-Markey bill, have a fatal flaw: They essentially encourage large-scale deforestation, which pretty much
by Marshall Wise, et al. (Science Magazine) Limiting atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations to low levels requires strategies to manage anthropogenic carbon emissions from terrestrial systems as well as fossil fuel and industrial sources. We explore the implications of fully
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA said 86 U.S. ethanol production facilities will qualify as “major” sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and be required to obtain Title V permits if the agency’s GHG regulation rule passes as
by Jessica Leber (New York Times Climatewire) The emerging cellulosic biofuel industry, stung by frozen credit markets, ineffective federal loan programs and lagging federal policies, will fall far short of mandated production volumes over the next few years. U.S. EPA is
The German Marshall Fund on September 25, 2009, sponsored a debate at the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on biofuels and indirect land use change. The debaters were Tim Searchinger, transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund and co-author
Regarding international indirect land use change analysis: A recent report on biofuels from the General Accounting Office, a nonpartisan, watchdog arm of Congress, confirms what level heads have been advocating for more than a year: There is no scientific consensus
Manning Feraci, Vice President of Federal Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), testified before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business regarding the pressing need to extend and reform the biodiesel tax incentive. The incentive is currently set to
Letter from EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson to Senator Tom Harkin, former chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee (below). Upon receiving these assurances, Senator Harkin and co-sponsors withdrew an amendment to the EPA's fiscal 2010 spending bill that
Representative Brian Bilbray (R-CA) and a bipartisan group of representatives introduced HR 3460, an amendment to the Clean Air Act to include algae as an eligible feedstock in the Renewable Fuel Standard (as amended by the Energy Independence and Security
by Anne C. Mulkern (New York Times/Greenwire) ... It is a big bet with high stakes. Venture capitalists, including Bill Gates' financing arm, infused Sapphire Energy with a combined $100 million. Exxon Mobil Corp. this summer invested $600 million in a
(25 x '25) As Congress continues its debate on comprehensive climate legislation, any measure adopted must adequately recognize and incentivize the extensive benefits biomass and the production of biofuels can provide to address global climate change. The 25x’25 Carbon Work
(Trade Only Today) Legislation designed to protect boaters and manufacturers from the problems associated with mid-level ethanol blends in gasoline was introduced Monday in the U.S. Senate. The Mid-Level Ethanol Blends Act of 2009, S. 1666, was introduced by U.S.
... We believe scientific data aren't available on a global basis to be able to accurately determine the extent to which biofuel production causes land use changes in remote locations or the greenhouse gas emissions that might exist. The possible
... The New Fuels Alliance submitted a letter co-signed by 20 leading advanced biofuel companies to Senators Boxer (D-CA) and Kerry (D-MA) asking for balanced carbon accounting in any upcoming climate legislation. The letter comes in the wake of the
The 25x'25 Carbon Work Group (CWG) has been engaged for more than a year in a process of identifying key policy options for delivering climate change solutions from the land and allowing the agricultural and forestry sectors to be rewarded
By Todd Neeley (The Progressive Farmer) Cattleman Bill Couser hit on the crux of the matter when it comes to the future of advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, during a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee field hearing on biofuels Tuesday. Couser, from
by Nicholas Zeman (Biodiesel Magazine) The National Biodiesel Board said last week that the Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act, a piece of legislation introduced to the U.S. Senate last week by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Maria Cantwell
From the report: ... Objective independent studies now emerging on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 suggest that the costs to the agriculture and forestry sectors from its cap and trade provisions are on net modest. At
(Reuters) Makers of biofuels and plastics and chemicals made from crops want U.S. senators to change the climate bill to give them free pollution permits that would be needed to emit greenhouse gases under the legislation. Companies that make the alternative
by Cath Everett (BusinessGreen.com) Corn ethanol industry accuses EPA of influencing independent panel to boost support for controversial biofuel carbon life cycle regulations. An independent peer review of proposed US biofuel regulations has only served to intensify a long-running dispute
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the Center for Public Integrity released a report on lobbying over the impending Climate Bill, and reported that 13 bioenergy companies plus several trade groups registered to lobby Congress for the first time
In a letter to the US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, the Renewable Fuels Association explains that stakeholders are unable to replicate or verify the analysis used by EPA in its international indirect land use change model. The best and most common way for
(25 x 25 REsource) Some stakeholders engaged in the climate change policy debate are expressing concern that carbon cap-and-trade legislation may lead to extensive tree planting and result in the conversion of valuable cropland to forests. Some even have suggested
“For Cap-and-Trade to truly reduce CO2 emissions, many promising lab-scale technologies will have to be prototyped, tested, and commercialized quickly,” says Bob Kozak, President of Atlantic Biomass Conversions. “With the current wording, the proposed Cap-and-Trade legislation does not have a
by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) (Politico) ...(W)e envisioned a biofuels industry that would move beyond corn ethanol. Scientists, the environmental community and some cutting-edge entrepreneurs were confident that biofuels could come from a wide array of feedstocks and use an
by Senator John Thune (R-SD) (Politico) As Congress, the administration and the private sector look for ways to reduce our consumption of imported oil, we should not overlook the most readily available domestic alternative to imported oil: biofuels. The development
by Dr. James Hansen (HuffingtonPost) ... For all its "green" aura, Waxman-Markey locks in fossil fuel business-as-usual and garlands it with a Ponzi-like "cap-and-trade" scheme. Here are a few of the bill's egregious flaws: It guts the Clean Air Act, removing
by Allison Winter (New York Times, ClimateWire) ... Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and other members of his panel say they want to ensure any effort at wide-ranging climate legislation in the Senate will include all of the provisions that House Agriculture
by Nathanial Gronewold (Climatewire) Having helped companies explore the labyrinth of greenhouse gas regulation in Europe, the Big Four auditing and accounting firms are now moving quickly to build climate and carbon shops in the United States. Their goal is to stake
Woody biomass from forest management is a renewable, low-carbon feedstock that can substitute for fossil fuels in the production of energy and other products — a potentially important tool in the national strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and resist
In response to the climate change bill passed by the House on June 26, Senators Orin Hatch (R-Utah), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), David Vitter (R- La.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Bob Bennett (R-Utah), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) introduced the Clean, Affordable,
by Gal Luft (EnerPub) ... The bill's renewable electricity mandate, which requires utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, would discourage the use of coal and natural gas, but since only 2 percent of
By a margin of 219 to 212, the American clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 passed the US House of Representatives on Friday evening, June 26. The next stop is the US Senate where, because it is significant legislation, it will likely
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson issued the following statement on an agreement with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. "We have reached an agreement that works for
Efforts continue to amend federal policy and widen the availability of renewable biomass resources that would be available from agriculture and forestry to meet the nation’s renewable energy goals. A number of advocacy groups and their allies in Congress are
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
In Washington, National Biodiesel Board public affairs heard Manning Feraci said that the EISA Act required the EPA to conduct a lifecycle analysis of biofuels as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard’s implementation, but said that “This does not require
Large uncertainties in calculating international land use change effects and associated greenhouse gas emissions remain in the Environmental Protection Agency's life cycle assessment of biofuels for the Renewable Fuel Standard. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today asked EPA to maintain
by Dan Looker. Talking to reporters, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) said he doubts that the final rule from the Environmental Protection Agency on a new renewable fuel standard will have the same use of indirect land use that
Speaker Nancy Pelosi met the House Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson to discuss the climate change bill that he opposes but which is a priority for House Democrats this year. ... Peterson announced opposition to the climate bill a month ago
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing revisions to the National Renewable Fuel Standard program (commonly known as the RFS program). Today’s proposed rule intends to address changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard program as required by the Energy Independence
May 15, 2009 - In recent years, the biofuels industry has made strides in breaking our nation's addiction to foreign oil. The production of ethanol has also generated strong demand for our crops and created many jobs in rural states
In its current state, the bill falls far short of the policies needed to transition from a dirty energy economy to a clean energy economy. We believe the Waxman-Markey bill should be drastically changed or dropped. Here's our position: Dump the cap and
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (MN) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (OK) along with a bipartisan group of 42 Members of Congress introduced a bill to correct flawed provisions in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that are limiting the
"I'm off the train," Collin Peterson, US House Agriculture Committee chair said May 6 during a strongly worded statement at a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency's new proposal for assessing indirect effects of ethanol production on greenhouse gas emissions. ...Peterson said,
Advanced Biofuels USA urges EPA, along with Congress and an engaged and informed public to carefully craft greenhouse gas emissions regulations and legislation with an eye to the following principles: Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, regardless of source, should be assessed
"Following California's recent decision to use flawed models to estimate ethanol's environmental impact, I am concerned that the EPA could soon apply similar standards that will handicap renewable fuel relative to regular gasoline," said Thune. "Congress has asked EPA to
Biofuelproducers and biotechnologycompanies today asked Congressional leaders to help them overcome economic obstacles to obtaining financial backing and bring commercially ready advanced biofuels to the marketplace. READ MORE and MORE
The Environmental Protection Agency, under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, is responsible for revising and implementing regulations to ensure that gasoline sold in the United States contains a minimum volume of renewable fuel. The Renewable Fuel Standard
To help individuals and corporations navigate and access the various federal programs and grants available, Senator Cantwell has released a comprehensive biofuels guide. READ MORE
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