RFA: RenovaBio Must Accurately Reflect Imported Ethanol Pathways

(Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Brazil’s RenovaBio program establishes national annual emissions reduction targets for transportation fuels that will likely require a significant increase in biofuels consumption. Therefore, the program must accurately reflect the carbon intensity for all ethanol pathways, including imports, the Renewable Fuels Association wrote in comments to Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy submitted Sunday.

Under RenovaBio, which was approved in late December 2017, the average carbon intensity (CI) of gasoline must be reduced by 10.1 percent by 2028. Brazilian officials recently sought comment from the public on the proposed annual CI emissions reduction targets.

“Given that many of our member companies produce ethanol that is exported to Brazil, the pathway for imported corn ethanol is of particular interest to RFA….[I]t is imperative that the CI scoring of biofuel pathways under RenovaBio is conducted in an accurate, transparent, and science-based manner,” RFA explained in its comments.

Under preliminary RenovaCalc estimates, imported corn ethanol is found to reduce GHG emissions by more than 50 percent compared to Brazilian gasoline. Meanwhile, Brazil-produced corn ethanol is found to reduce GHG emissions by 70 percent.

With certain further refinements, RFA said it believes the calculator can provide both regulators and regulated entities with reliable estimates of the CI associated with various fuel pathways.