The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis today released a comprehensive plan titled “Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America.”
The Climate Crisis Action Plan, released as a majority staff report, has received the early support of agricultural organizations and biofuels groups pleased to see the inclusion of a Low Carbon Fuel Standard in the recommendations.
The standard should set a technology-and feedstock-neutral benchmark for liquid and non-liquid fuels tied to a lifecycle assessment of the carbon intensity of the fuels. The carbon intensity standard should become more stringent (lower) over time. The lifecycle assessment should reflect the best-available science about the carbon intensity of fuel production, farming practices, land use changes, and crop productivity.
Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper says they are encouraged by the Select Committee’s acknowledgement that renewable fuels like ethanol can play an important role in reducing the carbon impacts of our nation’s transportation sector in the future. “The Committee correctly points out that the LCFS policy model already has a proven track record and that renewable fuels have played a crucial role in achieving the objectives of the California LCFS. We also concur with the Committee’s position that high-octane, low-carbon fuels could deliver substantial carbon benefits at a low cost in the years ahead.”
RFA and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) were among a broad coalition of stakeholders that worked together to developed a framework and set of guiding principles for a Midwest LCFS program.
“The Select Committee’s report not only cites our Midwest Clean Fuel Policy framework as a positive example of progress, it also mirrors our recommendations to reflect the best-available science for lifecycle assessments and reward farmers and biofuel producers using climate-smart practices that reduce carbon emissions, store soil carbon, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions,” said ACE CEO Brian Jennings.