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- White Open Spaces
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- Scary Regulatory Maneuvers in Bush’s Last Days
- FDA Did Not Finish Its Homework On BPA
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- Traumatic Brain Injury and Helmet Design
- Gates Foundation Funds Research, Venture Capital Style
- A Brief History of Lead Regulation
Biofuel Policy Recommendations in Science, Just Before Administration Unveils New Plan
SOURCE: NREL
Prairie grass.
Writing at the Switchboard blog, Nathanael Greene is pleased with the conclusions of 23 scientists who co-authored the Policy Forum in Friday’s issue of Science, “Sustainable Biofuels Redux” (subscription). He quotes the clear line the authors take on feedstocks that compete with food supplies: “… [W]e know that grain-based biofuel cropping systems as currently managed cause environmental harm,” as well as their appreciation that current systems can get better: “[B]ecause grain-based ethanol will likely remain in the nation’s energy portfolio, it is important to understand that appropriate practices can soften its environmental impact.”
Greene quotes at length from the article’s conclusion and nods in agreement that strong policy action is necessary:
We cannot repeat enough the point that cellulosic biofuels can be good but only will be if we decide through our policies to require them to be good. Furthermore, we know enough to act now to position the industry in the right direction.
I think the GHG standards and sourcing safeguards in the RFS are major step in this direction, but I heartily agree with the authors that policies to promote broadly sustainable biofuels are not in place.
Last year’s energy bill updated the parameters of the Renewable Fuels Standard to stipulate that various categories of biofuels must meet certain greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and for most of this year, the Environmental Protection Agency has been at work the complex rule-making process for the legislation. We have more on the legislation and that process here and here.
But just today, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that tomorrow they will release a new plan for accelerating the development of the sustainable biofuels industry. The media advisory is short and does not address the RFS rulemaking, which of course is the purview of EPA, though the status of that process seems relevant.
The text of the release:
On Tuesday, October 7, 2008, Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Ed Schafer and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman will release the National Biofuels Action Plan, an interagency plan detailing the collaborative efforts to accelerate the development of a sustainable biofuels industry. The Cabinet Secretaries will announce additional news related to the biofuels industry, new biofuel technology and ethanol blending.
Comments on this article
There is a lot to agree with in the Science article by Robertson et al. We do know enough to guide the biofuels industry toward best practices. How do we know? Because the industry has been working on models for sustainability for some time, such as in the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels, or 25×25. The DOE and USDA contribution is welcome but late.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:24 pmSo I have to disagree on using government policy to guide the industry toward best practices. How long would it take to establish the rules? And since the international effects of U.S. biofuel policy are a key part of the debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard, how do we ensure that U.S. policies are matched elsewhere?
The current RFS simply isn’t the tool for enforcing sustainability standards against farmers, which is primarily what the Science authors are concerned about.
The most likely outcome of establishing regulations for an industry that doesn’t exist yet, namely cellulosic ethanol, is ending it before it ever starts.
Industry-led efforts to implement best practices are going to continue to be the most expeditious way of achieving true sustainability with biofuels. Companies that adopt sustainability standards tend to proselytize, even in the international realm.