LCFS could set precedent in California that reaches well beyond ethanol

In California, biofuel policy under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard may set legal precedent allowing the state to limit trade of any product in its borders based on climate change impacts. Already the state has banned foie gras and eggs laid by chickens not raised in cages that comply with certain animal rights standards. Ethanol may just be the next thing. Midwestern ethanol producers argue that the LCFS goes against interstate commerce rules protected by the Constitution but California says that’s not true, as some ethanol produced in the Midwest and Brazil have higher GHG performance than ethanol produced within the state.