ACE to EPA: Adopt GREET Model and recognize ethanol’s low carbon value

In South Dakota, The American Coalition for Ethanol submitted feedback to the Environmental Protection Agency’s request for comment on the current scientific understanding of greenhouse gas modeling of land-based crop biofuels.

ACE CEO Brian Jennings and ACE Board Director Ron Alverson contributed to the feedback after attending EPA’s workshop on biofuel GHG modeling. The comments cover subject areas that illustrate why EPA must update the methodology it uses to account for the lifecycle GHG emissions of ethanol and other biofuels to properly credit their GHG benefits to meet climate goals.

The topics covered include: the role corn ethanol can play in combatting climate change; land use change discrepancies, along with research that debunks the flawed Lark et al. study findings and the mythical tie between ethanol and food price increases; why GREET is the gold standard modeling tool and should be adopted by EPA; how efficient use of fertilizer is reducing nitrous oxide emissions; and soil carbon sequestration advances through climate-smart farming. The comments conclude by detailing a first-of-its-kind pilot project ACE is leading to convince market regulators and lifecycle modelers to provide carbon credits for certain farming practices.