New Study: EPA Inaction on the RFS Rule Is Causing an Increase in GHG Emissions

Increased greenhouse gas emissions equal to 4.4 million additional cars on U.S. roads are likely as a result of EPA inaction on finalizing the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rules. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today issued a white paper updating earlier published estimates of the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from EPA’s proposal to reduce biofuel use during 2014.

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “During the U.N. Climate Summit this week, the Obama administration is sure to promote the regulatory actions it has taken to reduce climate change emissions from stationary sources such as power plants. But regulatory inaction on the RFS has opened the door to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

“Last November, EPA proposed a steep reduction in the use of biofuels in order to avoid hitting the so-called blend wall – a proposal the administration still has not finalized. What the agency failed to consider is that demand for transportation fuel has been increasing – the United States is now using several billion gallons more gasoline and diesel than projected. The so-called blend wall is an invention of the oil industry and has simply been a red herring.

“The administration must finalize the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard using a methodology based on biofuel production and continue the program’s successful support for commercialization of advanced and cellulosic biofuels. The renewable fuel industry has already created hundreds of thousands of good jobs and boosted economic growth.”

In March 2014, Brent Erickson and coauthors published the study, “Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Proposed Changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard Through 2022.” That study demonstrated that if EPA reduced biofuel use under the RFS, as the agency proposed in November 2013, the United States would experience an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and forego an achievable decrease in emissions.

In a new white paper issued today, the authors update the results of that study, using new data on transportation fuel demand for 2013 and 2014. The United States is now projected to use 2 billion gallons more gasoline and 0.5 billion gallons more diesel in 2014 than previously projected. The findings of today’s update include:

• The “blend wall” should not be a consideration for setting the RFS, because the United States is using more transportation fuel in 2014 than previously projected.
• Inaction on the 2014 RFS regulatory rule will lead to increased GHG emissions of 21 million metric tons CO2 equivalent.
• The increased GHG emissions are equal to putting an additional 4.4 million cars on the road, or having current cars drive an additional 50 billion miles, or opening 5.5 new coal-fired power plants.

A copy of the paper is available on the BIO.org website at: http://www.bio.org/advocacy/letters/estimated-ghg-increase-obama-administration-inaction-2014-rfs.