The Renewable Fuels Association welcomed the inclusion of certain provisions in the CLEAN Future Act proposal released today by House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats, noting that the measures would help bring more transparency and integrity to EPA’s implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard. RFA also noted that as talks on the draft legislation proceed, the ethanol industry will continue to advocate for market-based, fuel-neutral approaches for reducing carbon emissions that do not arbitrarily pick technology winners and losers.
Included in the text of the CLEAN Future Act are requirements that EPA take more expeditious action to approve new renewable fuel pathways under the RFS, set reasonable deadlines for the submission of any small refinery waiver petitions, and ensure more transparency in the refinery waiver petition process.
“The Renewable Fuel Standard has already created a solid foundation for cutting transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, with a recent study finding that biofuels use under the program has already reduced greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 1 billion metric tons. We know renewable fuels like ethanol can play an even larger role in reducing the carbon impacts of our nation’s transportation fuels moving forward,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “The RFS-related provisions in the CLEAN Future Act draft take a step toward maximizing the program’s ability to drive innovation and reduce GHG emissions, but more work remains to be done to fully capitalize on ethanol’s potential to fight climate change.”
As the Energy and Commerce Committee continues to discuss and refine the CLEAN Future Act, Cooper said RFA will continue to promote the climate and environmental justice benefits that renewable fuels bring to the table. “We look forward to continuing our engagement and interaction with the Committee and other members of Congress as the next steps are taken toward addressing carbon emissions from the transportation sector,” he said. “In particular, we are eager to discuss the importance of fuel- and vehicle-neutral carbon performance standards that can aggressively and immediately reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector.”
