NGOs demand UNCTAD withdraw report; but who is making the false claims?

April 11, 2016 |

In the UK, Biofuelwatch and six other groups are calling on the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to withdraw a report, which they say falsely claims that second generation biofuels have become a ”commercial reality.”  In an Open Letter to UNCTAD, the groups warn that the report’s conclusion is based on such profound factual inaccuracies and misleading industry claims that it should be withdrawn.

The groups’ letter highlights four specific examples of gross factual inaccuracies found in the report. Those include the report’s claim that over 100 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol were produced in the US in 2014. Data published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) documents that just over 2 million cellulosic ethanol RINs were registered in 2014.

However, the UNCTAD report does not comment specifically on production, but specifically refers to installed capacity. And, the production of cellulosic ethanol and the registration of RINs that demonstrates sale and use of that fuel in US road transportation by obligated parties — not quite the same thing.

Category: Fuels

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