Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-12-24 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD: Program Unlikely to Meet Its Targets for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard Program Unlikely to Meet Its Targets for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The RFS generally mandates that domestic transportation fuels be blended with increasing volumes of biofuels through 2022, with the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and expanding the nation's renewable fuels sector while reducing reliance on imported oil. Annual targets for the volumes of biofuels to be blended are set by statute. EPA oversees the program and is responsible for adjusting the statutory targets through 2022 to reflect expected U.S. industry production levels, among other factors, and for setting biofuel volume targets after 2022. Biofuels included in the RFS are conventional (primarily cornstarch ethanol) as well as various advanced biofuels (including cellulosic ethanol and biomass-based diesel). Advanced biofuels emit fewer greenhouse gases than petroleum and corn-starch ethanol. GAO was asked to review challenges to the RFS and their possible solutions. This report provides information on whether the RFS is expected to meet its goals, as well as expert views on any federal actions that could improve the RFS framework, among other things. GAO worked with the National Academy of Sciences to identify experts on issues related to the RFS. GAO interviewed these experts and analyzed their responses. This report also drew on published studies, and a companion report, GAO-17-108, that examined federal research and development in advanced biofuels and related issues. EPA generally agreed with the report.

Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard Program Unlikely to Meet Its Targets for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-07-19 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The RFS generally mandates that domestic transportation fuels be blended with increasing volumes of biofuels through 2022, with the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and expanding the nation's renewable fuels sector while reducing reliance on imported oil. Annual targets for the volumes of biofuels to be blended are set by statute. EPA oversees the program and is responsible for adjusting the statutory targets through 2022 to reflect expected U.S. industry production levels, among other factors, and for setting biofuel volume targets after 2022. Biofuels included in the RFS are conventional (primarily corn-starch ethanol) as well as various advanced biofuels (including cellulosic ethanol and biomass-based diesel). Advanced biofuels emit fewer greenhouse gases than petroleum and corn-starch ethanol.GAO was asked to review challenges to the RFS and their possible solutions. This report provides information on whether the RFS is expected to meet its goals, as well as expert views on any federal actions that could improve the RFS framework, among other things. GAO worked with the National Academy of Sciences to identify experts on issues related to the RFS. GAO interviewed these experts and analyzed their responses. This report also drew on published studies, and a companion report, GAO-17-108, that examined federal research and"

Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-05-11 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD: Program Unlikely to Meet Production or Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets

Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-09-24 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The RFS generally mandates that domestic transportation fuels be blended with increasing volumes of biofuels through 2022, with the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and expanding the nation's renewable fuels sector while reducing reliance on imported oil. Blending of conventional renewable fuels, primarily ethanol derived from corn starch which is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent compared with petroleum-based fuels, has nearly reached the maximum called for under the RFS. Further growth in renewable fuels is to come from advanced biofuels, which must reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent compared with petroleum-based fuels to qualify under the RFS. However, production of advanced biofuels has not kept pace with statutory targets. To promote the development and commercialization of advanced biofuels, the federal government has supported R&D efforts for biofuels since the 1970s. GAO was asked to review issues related to advanced biofuels R&D. This report describes (1) how the federal government has supported advanced biofuels R&D in recent years and where its efforts have been targeted and (2) expert views on the extent to which advanced biofuels are technologically understood and the factors that will affect the speed and volume of production. GAO interviewed DOD, DOE, EPA, NSF, and USDA

Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Congress established the RFS in 2005 and expanded it 2 years later. The RFS generally mandates that transportation fuels—typically gasoline and diesel—sold in the United States contain increasing amounts of biofuels. In addition, the RFS is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing petroleum-based fuels with biofuels expected to have lower associated greenhouse gas emissions. The most common biofuel currently produced in the United States is corn-starch ethanol, distilled from the sugars in corn. EPA uses RINs associated with biofuels blended with petroleum-based fuels to regulate compliance with the program. In 2014, GAO found that refiners’ costs for complying with the RFS had increased, and in 2016, GAO found that greenhouse gas emissions are unlikely to be reduced to the extent anticipated because production of advanced biofuels—which reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than corn-starch ethanol—has not kept pace with the yearly increases or the target of 21 billion gallons by 2022 called for by the statute. GAO was asked to review additional issues related to the effects of the RFS. This report examines what is known about (1) the effect the RFS has had to date on retail gasoline prices in the United States and (2) the RFS’s effect on greenhouse gas emissions and whether the RFS will meet its goals for reducing those emissions. The report also provides information about RINs. Because the RFS was implemented on a nationwide basis at the same time that other factors, such as the global price of crude oil and domestic demand for retail gasoline, were affecting retail gasoline prices across the nation, it is not possible to directly isolate and measure the effect the RFS had on gasoline prices nationwide given data available to GAO. Instead GAO developed and extensively tested an econometric model that estimated the effects on retail gasoline prices of state ethanol mandates.

Download or read book Examining EPA s Management of the Renewable Fuel Standard Program written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care, and Entitlements and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Greenhouse Gas Protocol written by and published by World Business Pub.. This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard helps companies and other organizations to identify, calculate, and report GHG emissions. It is designed to set the standard for accurate, complete, consistent, relevant and transparent accounting and reporting of GHG emissions.

Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-01-29 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, we have come to depend on plentiful and inexpensive energy to support our economy and lifestyles. In recent years, many questions have been raised regarding the sustainability of our current pattern of high consumption of nonrenewable energy and its environmental consequences. Further, because the United States imports about 55 percent of the nation's consumption of crude oil, there are additional concerns about the security of supply. Hence, efforts are being made to find alternatives to our current pathway, including greater energy efficiency and use of energy sources that could lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as nuclear and renewable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. The United States has a long history with biofuels and the nation is on a course charted to achieve a substantial increase in biofuels. Renewable Fuel Standard evaluates the economic and environmental consequences of increasing biofuels production as a result of Renewable Fuels Standard, as amended by EISA (RFS2). The report describes biofuels produced in 2010 and those projected to be produced and consumed by 2022, reviews model projections and other estimates of the relative impact on the prices of land, and discusses the potential environmental harm and benefits of biofuels production and the barriers to achieving the RFS2 consumption mandate. Policy makers, investors, leaders in the transportation sector, and others with concerns for the environment, economy, and energy security can rely on the recommendations provided in this report.

Download or read book The Renewable Fuel Standard written by Terry Dinan and published by . This book was released on 2014-08-02 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) establishes minimum volumes of various types of renewable fuels that must be included in the U.S.'s supply of fuel for transportation. Those volumes -- as defined by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) -- are intended to grow each year through 2022. Recently, the requirements of the RFS have been met largely by blending gasoline with ethanol made from cornstarch. In the future, EISA requires the use of increasingly large amounts of "advanced biofuels," which include diesel made from biomass (such as soybean oil or animal fat), ethanol made from sugarcane, and cellulosic biofuels (made from converting the cellulose in plant materials into fuel). A main goal of the Renewable Fuel Standard is to reduce U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change. Policymakers and analysts have raised concerns about the RFS, particularly about the feasibility of complying with the standard, whether it will increase prices for food and transportation fuels, and whether it will lead to the intended reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This analysis evaluates how much the supply of various types of renewable fuels would have to increase over the next several years to comply with the RFS. It also examines how food prices, fuel prices, and emissions would vary in an illustrative year, 2017, under three scenarios for the Renewable Fuel Standard. Figures and tables. This is a print on demand report.

Download or read book Accelerating Decarbonization of the U S Energy System written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-02 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is transforming its energy system from one dominated by fossil fuel combustion to one with net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary anthropogenic greenhouse gas. This energy transition is critical to mitigating climate change, protecting human health, and revitalizing the U.S. economy. To help policymakers, businesses, communities, and the public better understand what a net-zero transition would mean for the United States, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine convened a committee of experts to investigate how the U.S. could best decarbonize its transportation, electricity, buildings, and industrial sectors. This report, Accelerating Decarbonization of the United States Energy System, identifies key technological and socio-economic goals that must be achieved to put the United States on the path to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The report presents a policy blueprint outlining critical near-term actions for the first decade (2021-2030) of this 30-year effort, including ways to support communities that will be most impacted by the transition.

Download or read book Implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard with the Renewable Portfolio Standard in the US written by Anthony Oliver and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and state-level Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) have the potential to interact in complex ways because they will both rely on biomass for cellulosic biofuels and bio-electricity. This interaction could be synergistic or competitive; while the implementation of the RFS could divert biomass from electricity generation for biofuels it would also generate electricity as a co-product of the cellulosic biofuel production process. This paper examines the welfare costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions effects of the RFS and RPS implemented jointly and compares them with those of implementing each of these policies by itself over the 2007-2030 period using an integrated, dynamic, price endogenous model of the electricity, transportation and agricultural sectors for the US. We also compare the cost effectiveness of these policies implemented jointly with those of a carbon tax that achieves the same level of cumulative reduction in domestic GHG emissions over 2007-2030 period. We find that the implementation of the RFS will raise the welfare costs of implementing the RPS for the electricity sector by 10% and lower its GHG benefits by 7% relative to those with the RPS implemented by itself. We also find that the global welfare costs of the jointly implemented RFS and RPS policies are significantly higher than those of a carbon tax. However, the former induces a larger shift to renewable energy than the carbon tax alone and thus would achieve larger reductions in domestic GHG emissions in the long run than a constant carbon tax policy.

Download or read book Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-04-14 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a century, almost all light-duty vehicles (LDVs) have been powered by internal combustion engines operating on petroleum fuels. Energy security concerns about petroleum imports and the effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on global climate are driving interest in alternatives. Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels assesses the potential for reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions by 80 percent across the U.S. LDV fleet by 2050, relative to 2005. This report examines the current capability and estimated future performance and costs for each vehicle type and non-petroleum-based fuel technology as options that could significantly contribute to these goals. By analyzing scenarios that combine various fuel and vehicle pathways, the report also identifies barriers to implementation of these technologies and suggests policies to achieve the desired reductions. Several scenarios are promising, but strong, and effective policies such as research and development, subsidies, energy taxes, or regulations will be necessary to overcome barriers, such as cost and consumer choice.

Download or read book The Economics of Biofuel Policies written by Harry de Gorter and published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-04-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The global food crises of 2008 and 2010 and the increased price volatility revolve around biofuels policies and their interaction with each other, farm policies and between countries. While a certain degree of research has been conducted on biofuel efficacy and logistics, there is currently no book on the market devoted to the economics of biofuel policies. The Economics of Biofuel Policies focuses on the role of biofuel policies in creating turmoil in the world grains and oilseed markets since 2006. This new volume is the first to put together theory and empirical evidence of how biofuel policies created a link between crop (food grains and oilseeds) and biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel) prices. This combined with biofuel policies role in affecting the link between biofuels and energy (gasoline, diesel and crude oil) prices will form the basis to show how alternative US, EU, and Brazilian biofuel policies have immense impacts on the level and volatility of food grain and oilseed prices.

Download or read book Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States written by Michael Gerrard and published by . This book was released on 2019-03-18 with total page 1056 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States provides a "legal playbook" for deep decarbonization in the United States, identifying well over 1,000 legal options for enabling the United States to address one of the greatest problems facing this country and the rest of humanity. The book is based on two reports by the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) that explain technical and policy pathways for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. This 80x50 target and similarly aggressive carbon abatement goals are often referred to as deep decarbonization, distinguished because it requires systemic changes to the energy economy. Legal Pathways explains the DDPP reports and then addresses in detail 35 different topics in as many chapters. These 35 chapters cover energy efficiency, conservation, and fuel switching; electricity decarbonization; fuel decarbonization; carbon capture and negative emissions; non-carbon dioxide climate pollutants; and a variety of cross-cutting issues. The legal options involve federal, state, and local law, as well as private governance. Authors were asked to include all options, even if they do not now seem politically realistic or likely, giving Legal Pathways not just immediate value, but also value over time. While both the scale and complexity of deep decarbonization are enormous, this book has a simple message: deep decarbonization is achievable in the United States using laws that exist or could be enacted. These legal tools can be used with significant economic, social, environmental, and national security benefits. Book Reviews "A growing chorus of Americans understand that climate change is the biggest public health, economic, and national security challenge our families have ever faced and they rightly ask, ''What can anyone do?'' Well, this book makes that answer very clear: we can do a lot as individuals, businesses, communities, cities, states, and the federal government to fight climate change. The legal pathways are many and the barriers are not insurmountable. In short, the time is now to dig deep and decarbonize." --Gina McCarthy, Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator "Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States sets forth over 1,000 solutions for federal, state, local, and private actors to tackle climate change. This book also makes the math for Congress clear: with hundreds of policy options and 12 years to stop the worst impacts of climate change, now is the time to find a path forward." --Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator, Rhode Island "This superb work comes at a critical time in the history of our planet. As we increasingly face the threat and reality of climate change and its inevitable impact on our most vulnerable populations, this book provides the best and most current thinking on viable options for the future to address and ameliorate a vexing, worldwide challenge of extraordinary magnitude. Michael Gerrard and John Dernbach are two of the most distinguished academicians in the country on these issues, and they have assembled leading scholars and practitioners to provide a possible path forward. With 35 chapters and over 1,000 legal options, the book is like a menu of offerings for public consumption, showing that real actions can be taken, now and in the future, to achieve deep decarbonization. I recommend the book highly." --John C. Cruden, Past Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice "This book proves that we already know what to do about climate change, if only we had the will to do it. The path to decarbonization depends as much on removing legal impediments and changing outdated incentive systems as it does on imposing new regulations. There are ideas here for every sector of the economy, for every level of government, and for business and nongovernmental organizations, too, all of which should be on the table for any serious country facing the most serious of challenges. By giving us a sense of the possible, Gerrard and Dernbach and their fine authors seem to be saying two things: (1) do something; and (2) it''s possible. What a timely message, and what a great collection." --Jody Freeman, Archibald Cox Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program

Download or read book Biofuels in Africa written by Donald Mitchell and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2010-11-24 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new economic opportunity for sub-Saharan Africa is looming large: biofuel production. Rapidly rising energy prices are expected to remain high for an extended period of time because of the increasing demand in prospering and populous countries such as China and India, the depletion of easily accessible supplies of crude oil, and concern over global climate change. As a result, there is renewed interest in biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels. Africa is uniquely positioned to produce these new cash crops for both domestic use and export. The region has abundant land resources and preferential access to protected markets with higher-than-world-market prices. The rapid growth in the demand for transport fuels in Africa and high fuel prices create domestic markets for biofuels. The European Union and the United States have approved legislation that requires large increases in the consumption of biofuels over at least the next decade. Imports are expected to be needed to meet these mandates, thus opening the door to African and other developing countries that can produce biofuels or feedstocks for biofuels competitively. Expanding the production of crops for biofuels will affect the entire rural sector in Africa as resources are shifted away from traditional crops and the prices of all agricultural commodities rise. Even smallholders can participate in producing biofuel crops. To promote the sustainability and significant contribution of this enterprise, Biofuels in Africa provides guidance in formulating suitable policy regimes, which are based on protecting the rights of current land users, developing revenue-sharing schemes with local communities, safeguarding the environment and biodiversity, expanding institutional capacity, formulating new regulations and procedures, and emulating best practices from experienced countries. This volume will be of value to anyone interested in biofuels, including policy makers, development practitioners, private investors, researchers, and the general public. Now that African countries are trying to significantly increase their energy supply systems, biofuels are an attractive option using both dedicated crops and agricultural waste. This book provides guidance for them to develop a suitable policy regime for a significant contribution by biofuels. Professor Ogunlade R. Davidson, Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Sierra Leone Biofuels in Africa is a sorely needed resource for our understanding of the problems of expanding biofuels production in Africa. A high point of the book is a description of the projects that were started in several countries. A very useful book! Professor Jos Goldemberg, University of S o Paulo, Brazil As Africa most likely will play the same role for global biofuels as the Middle East does for oil, this comprehensive book on African biofuels should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in either African development or biofuels. The book captures the essence of long-term drivers and opportunities as well the complex challenges for investors and society of this huge emerging industry. Per Carstedt, Executive Chairman, EcoEnergy Africa

Download or read book Energy Technology Innovation written by Arnulf Grubler and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An edited volume on factors determining success or failure of energy technology innovation, for researchers and policy makers.