Clean Fuels Alliance America and the California Advanced Biofuels Alliance (CABA) joined to provide comments on a proposal from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that would put a cap on soy- and canola-based biodiesel and renewable diesel.

The groups say the proposal could raise prices of fuel and goods for California consumers and set back decarbonization efforts by years. The recently proposed amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) would put a 20% cap on credits for vegetable-oil-based fuel, without sufficient scientific evidence to support such limitations.

Biodiesel and renewable diesel have displaced nearly 75% of all diesel sold in the state and are responsible for 45% of California’s progress under the LCFS so far. Capping the use of vegetable oils to power trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles will slow down California’s effort to decarbonize them.

Clean Fuels, CABA and other stakeholders are urging CARB to reconsider the proposed caps on vegetable oils in the LCFS in part because it will delay decarbonization and increase the cost to comply with California’s lofty greenhouse gas reduction goals. For every 5 years of delay, 13 times more emissions reductions will be required to have the same climate impact.