RFA says study that finds corn ethanol produces more GHG emissions is fundamentally flawed; land-use change controversy revives

In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association issued a stinging rebuke to a study published last week that concluded that corn ethanol can increase greenhouse gas emissions by as much as two times over conventional gasoline.

The RFA response stated that “The report’s erroneous finding…is completely predicated on the baseless assumption that additional corn demand for  increased ethanol production will cause conversion of large amounts of grassland enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).”

The RFA added: “There is not a shred of empirical, peer?reviewed evidence existing today that positively links increased corn ethanol production to
conversion of non?agricultural lands such as grassland or forest. Increased demand for corn so far has been met largely through higher
productivity per unit of land; this trend is expected to continue at an accelerated rate in the future.”

The RFA pointed out that, if land use change emissions are removed from the analysis, corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 30-46 percent, consistent with findings in the Liska, Wang, Mueller and Kim & Dale studies published between 2005 and 2009.

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