Since the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the Renewable Fuel Standard almost three years ago – Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says there have been dozens of new studies and modeling improvements. He says these new reports and data show that the corn ethanol process is far less carbon intensive that assumed by EPA. That’s why he is calling on Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to initiate a process to update the EPA’s obsolete lifecycle greenhouse gas analyses of corn and surgarcane ethanol for the RFS2. Dinneen says corn ethanol is offering real and significant GHG savings today. Dinneen says research shows the lifecycle GHG emissions associated with Brazilian sugarcane ethanol production are worse than originally estimated by EPA for the RFS2.

Recognizing the new science and data and initiating a process to update the RFS2 – according to Dinneen – will ensure the Agency maintains an active and relevant role in the scientific discussion around biofuel lifecycle GHG accounting; enhance the public’s understanding of corn ethanol’s lifecycle GHG impacts and serve to inform debate on future biofuels policies; allow for fairer comparisons of corn and sugarcane ethanol; and reduce the backlog of petitions for new pathways.