The Future of Biofuels Webinars: Emissions Accounting and Modeling; Role of Policy in Biofuel Adoption; Economic Research Priorities for a Low-Carbon Transitionand Biofuels in the Economy and Decarbonization Pathways

January 22, 2026

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(Resources for the Future) Economic Research Priorities for a Low-Carbon Transition -- A webinar featuring a fireside chat discussing research needed into biofuels’ mitigation potential and long-term viability, sectoral roles and deployment barriers, policy design, and economic and distributional consequences.

Recent federal actions, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, have heightened the relevance of biofuels in the United States. Advanced biofuels, in particular, may have the potential to contribute to economy-wide emissions reductions by serving as an alternative for fossil fuels in hard-to-electrify sectors such as aviation, maritime shipping, and heavy-duty transport. But what are the true climate impacts of biofuel production, what long-term role do biofuels play in economy-wide decarbonization, and how can policies be designed to be effective while limiting unintended consequences?

On Wednesday, November 5, RFF hosted a webinar featuring a fireside chat between Billy Pizer and Robert Bonnie where they discussed research needed into biofuels’ mitigation potential and long-term viability; sectoral roles and deployment barriers; and the design of biofuel policies, including their economic and distributional consequences. This webinar introduced RFF’s “Future of Biofuels” webinar series, with several expert panels to follow in the coming weeks.

Fireside Chat

Robert Bonnie, Distinguished Scholar, Stone Center for Environmental Stewardship
Billy Pizer, President and CEO, RFF

Event Recording

Biofuels in the Economy and Decarbonization Pathways -- A webinar featuring an expert panel that will explore biofuels policies and how they can be designed to best meet environmental and economic goals.

On Friday, November 7, RFF hosted a webinar featuring an expert panel that explored these questions and more. This webinar, the second in RFF’s “Future of Biofuels” series, complemented the scene setting that occurred during the fireside chat on “Economic Research Priorities for a Low-Carbon Transition” from earlier in the week.

What emissions-reduction opportunities do biofuels offer in the energy transition, and under what conditions are those reductions scalable and durable?
In which sectors and applications do biofuels have the most potential, and what frictions limit their development and deployment in these areas?
What key questions, challenges, and debates characterize this discussion?

Speakers

Jeremy Martin, Director of Fuels Policy & Senior Scientist, Clean Transportation Program; Union of Concerned Scientists
Jeff Luse, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus
Julie Witcover, Associate Project Scientist; Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California-Davis
Scott Irwin, Professor, Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing; University of Illinois
Beia Spiller, Fellow, Director of the Transportation Program; RFF

Event Recording

Role of Policy in Biofuel Adoption -- This webinar featured an expert panel that discussed biofuels policies and how they can be designed to best meet environmental and economic goals.

How have US biofuel policies shaped fuel markets, emissions outcomes, and incentives for innovation? How do federal and state biofuel policies interact, and what effect do these interactions have on policy outcomes? What can be learned from recent experience about how federal and state biofuel policies can be designed to best meet environmental and economic goals?

On Friday, November 14, Resources for the Future (RFF) hosted a webinar featuring an expert panel that will tackle these questions and more. This webinar is the third in RFF’s “Future of Biofuels” series.

Speakers

James Stock, Vice Provost of Sustainability, Harvard University
Aaron Smith, Gordon Rausser Distinguished Chair and Professor, UC Berkeley
Marc Hafstead, Fellow, RFF
Nafisa Lohawala, Fellow, RFF
Kristen McCormack, Fellow, RFF (Moderator)

Event Recording

Emissions Accounting and Modeling -- The final Biofuels webinar installment with an expert panel discussion about how lifecycle assessment models inform biofuel policy design, the key debates and uncertainties in emissions accounting, and more.

How are lifecycle assessment (LCA) models used in existing policies to incentivize biofuel production, and what are the major areas of debate in the emissions accounting space? Why do LCA assumptions—including treatment of indirect land use change—matter, and what research could improve models and interpretation? What unresolved uncertainties limit reliability for decisionmaking, and how might policy frameworks reflect these limits?

On Friday, November 21, RFF hosted a webinar featuring an expert panel that tackled these questions and more. This webinar is the fourth in RFF’s “Future of Biofuels” series.

Speakers

Brent Sohngen, Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics, The Ohio State University
Chris Malins, Director, Cerulogy
Corinne Scown, Senior Scientist, University of California, Berkeley
David Wear, RFF (Moderator)
Matthew Wibbenmeyer, RFF (Moderator)

Event Recording

In Focus: The Future of US Biofuels -- Recent federal and state policy decisions are working to elevate the role of biofuels in the US energy mix. While biofuels could help move the economy away from fossil fuel dependence, many questions still need to be answered about the potential for biofuels to contribute meaningfully to emissions reduction, equity considerations, and efficiency. RFF Fellow Nafisa Lohawala details these issues, which she will explore further in a series of RFF webinars, beginning November 5, that explore the broad potential of biofuels. READ MORE/Watch presentation