GROUPS CALL ON EPA TO LIMIT USE OF FOOD-BASED FUELS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2013
CONTACT:
Brendan McLaughlin, Resource Media, brendan@resource-media.org, 206.374.7795 x108
GROUPS CALL ON EPA TO LIMIT USE OF FOOD-BASED FUELS
Shortfall in cellulosic biofuel production not grounds to expand mandates for other fuels
WASHINGTON – Last week 5 major environmental, scientific, human health and development organizations sent a letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit competition between food and fuel under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The letter comes in response to EPA’s proposed biofuel mandate volumes for 2013, the public comment period for which ended yesterday.
The RFS calls for increasing the overall use of biofuels gradually each year leading up to 2022, with nearly all future growth expected to come from cellulosic and food-based advanced fuels.
EPA’s proposal requires the use of so-called “advanced” food-based biofuels such as soy biodiesel and sugarcane ethanol to make up for a shortfall in cleaner cellulosic biofuels, but the signatories warn that this move will increase pressure on food prices and supplies, and drive the conversion of forests and prairies into agricultural land.
See the full letter: http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_vehicles/UCS-ActionAid-CATF-NWF-NRDC-RFS-Letter.pdf
Signatories:
ActionAid USA
Clean Air Task Force
Natural Resources Defense Council
National Wildlife Federation
Union of Concerned Scientists
Statements:
“Making up for the shortfall in cellulosic ethanol by requiring more sugar and soy-based biofuels would be a huge mistake. Current mandates for food-based biofuels are already causing hunger and taking land away from small farmers, and this would only escalate those problems.”
Kristin Sundell, Senior Policy Analyst, ActionAid USA
“The simple truth is we are not producing anywhere near as much cellulosic ethanol as Congress called for when they created the Renewable Fuel Standard six years ago. EPA should avoid filling that shortfall with food-based biofuels that cause more harm than good, such as those made from sugarcane or soybeans. Rapidly scaling up our use of those fuels will have the perverse result of driving up production of corn ethanol and palm oil, increasing food prices and causing massive deforestation. I urge the agency to reduce our biofuel mandate in proportion to the cellulosic shortage.”
Jonathan Lewis, Senior Council, Clean Air Task Force
“With current demand for corn and soy biofuels feedstocks, grasslands in the Prairie Pothole Region are being plowed up to plant more corn and soybeans. Grassland bird species are some of the worst threatened, and a majority of the country’s ducks nest in the Prairie Pothole region. Since 2006, we’ve lost 1.3 million acres of grasslands in the Western Corn Belt. Increasing our use of soy-based biodiesel and advanced corn-based biofuels will accelerate the grassland plow-up even further.”
Ben Larson, Agriculture Program Manager, National Wildlife Federation
“The EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard is driving real investments in next-generation biofuels. As a result, promising technologies and feedstocks that don’t compete with food are beginning to reach commercial markets, helping decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. But EPA must ensure that the Renewable Fuel Standard does not create competition between fuel and food, which could threaten both food supplies and our environment. The EPA should find ways to send a stronger signal, similar to a low carbon fuel standard, to transition the industry away from feedstocks that compete with food.”
Brian Siu, Senior Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Defense Council
“Today we stand at a crossroads over the future of biofuels. One path will result in the slow shift away from food-based fuels to non-food “cellulosic” sources, helping cut oil use in a responsible way, while the other will expand production of corn ethanol, palm biodiesel and other food-based fuels that do not meet the necessary environmental standards set by the EPA and cause a host of other problems.”
Jeremy Martin, Senior Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists
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