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.
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