The EPA Overlooks a Chance to Reduce 7 Trillion Pounds of CO2 From Our Atmosphere Over Three Years

WASHINGTON, DC – Michael McAdams, President of the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA), issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) rule.

“The EPA’s 2023, 2024, and 2025 RVOs are a missed opportunity to invest in and expand the adoption of low-carbon advanced biofuels. The ruling disagrees with studies conducted by numerous organizations about America’s surging advanced biofuel production capacity, including the Energy Information Agency, and underestimates the existing and planned capacities of advanced biofuels by hundreds of millions of gallons per year. Advanced Biofuels are required to deliver greater than 50% reductions in GHG emissions and are therefore the most effective channel to effectively reduce carbon emissions within the RFS program.

“To arrest climate change, the Biden Administration should leverage the tools at its disposal that can be deployed economically using our existing national fuel infrastructure. By choosing not to reflect the available and growing supply of advanced biofuels in this three-year rule, the EPA is overlooking a chance to reduce 7 trillion pounds of CO2 from our atmosphere. This rule reneges on the Biden Administration’s proclaimed vision for carbon reduction.

“The Advanced Biofuels Association believes in an all-of-the-above solution to our energy and climate challenges, inclusive of electrification and low-carbon advanced biofuels. However, the EPA’s latest ruling does not fully reflect the volumes of advanced, biomass-based diesel, and cellulosic fuels available and could discourage continued investment in sustainable fuels that deliver up to an 80% reduction in emissions versus traditional fossil fuels.

“It is disappointing that the Biden Administration’s EPA chose not to recognize the projected growth of the biomass-based diesel pool in this rule, despite the groundbreaking carbon reductions being delivered by renewable diesel plants coming online today. More than 20 renewable diesel facilities have been proposed or are currently under construction. Moreover, the ABFA provided the agency with studies conducted by third-party analysts, which found that there are sufficient feedstocks available, accounting for food, to support a more significant increase in renewable volumes.

“Although our request for a 500-million-gallon yearly increase in the biomass-based diesel pool was not met, our industry is appreciative that the rule ramps up to 460-million-gallons in the D4 pool by 2025. This boost serves as an acknowledgement of the progress made by those of us involved in the delivery of renewable diesel, biodiesel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The ABFA will continue to work with the EPA, Department of Energy (DOE), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other key stakeholder groups to deliver the hundreds-of-millions of gallons of advanced biofuels that will not be mandatory under the RFS.”

To read ABFA’s full comments on the EPA’s proposal, click here.

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About the Advanced Biofuels Association

Founded in 2007, ABFA represents more than 40 companies from the U.S. and around the world who are stakeholders in the biofuels industry. ABFA represents all sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) currently in production in the United States, adding to our membership’s worldwide annual production exceeding five billion gallons of renewable diesel, biodiesel, renewable gasoline, and renewable heating oil.