Corn-based ethanol, which has for many years been mixed in large quantities into gasoline sold at pumps in the US, is likely to contribute much more to the global warming compared to straight gasoline, according to a study published Monday.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contradicts previous research commissioned by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) showing that ethanol and other substances biofuel relatively green.
President Joe Biden’s The administration is considering biofuel policies as part of a broader effort to decarbonize the US economy by 2050 to combat climate change.
“Corn ethanol is not a climate-friendly fuel,” said Dr.
The study, funded in part by the National Wildlife Federation and the US Department of Energy, found that ethanol is likely to use at least 24% more carbon than gasoline. emissions due to changes in land use to grow corn, along with processing and burning.
Geoff Cooper, president and chief executive officer of the Renewable Fuels Association, which lobbies for ethanol trade, called the study “complete fiction and falsehood,” arguing that the authors used “worst case assumptions. [and] data is picked from cherries. “
Under the United States Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a law enacted in 2005, the nation’s refineries are required to mix approximately 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol into the nation’s gasoline every day. five. The policy is intended to reduce emissions, support farmers, and cut the United States’ dependence on energy imports.
As a result of the mission, corn planting increased by 8.7% and expanded by 6.9 million acres between 2008 and 2016, the study found. Research shows that has led to widespread changes in land use, including tilling crops that would otherwise have been abandoned or participating in conservation programs and growing more corn on the planet. existing arable land.
Tilling fields release carbon stored in the soil, while other farming practices, such as nitrogen fertilization, also produce emissions.
A 2019 study from the USDA, widely cited by the biofuels industry, found that ethanol’s carbon intensity is 39% lower than gasoline, in part due to the carbon sequestration associated with growing new arable land.
But that study underestimated the emissions impact of land conversion, Lark said.
The USDA did not respond to a request for comment.
America I have to go to school every day, the nation’s biofuels policy regulator, is reviewing changes to the program. According to the RFS, Congress sets forth the requirements for incorporation until 2022, but not beyond, giving EPA authority to impose reforms. The EPA plans to propose the 2023 requirements in May.
Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by David Gregorio
