The land used to grow corn-based ethanol may be doing more damage than good for the environment. That’s according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered the study. This contradicts previous research that had shown that ethanol is more environmentally friendly than gasoline. New research suggests that ethanol is likely to be 24 percent more carbon-intensive then gasoline.
Dr. Tyler Lark, assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin Madison Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment and the lead author of the study, stated that corn ethanol is not a climate-friendly vehicle. Reuters.
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A USDA study in 2019 found that ethanol is 39% less carbon-intensive than straight gasoline due to carbon sequestration. Lark however claims that previous research had underestimated the impact of land conversion on emissions.
Emissions are also produced by other farming activities such as nitrogen fertilizers application and the carbon stored in the soil. The study also suggests that ethanol is more expensive to process and burn than regular fuel.
Geoff Cooper, the president of the Renewable Fuels Association, a leading trade association in the American ethanol industry, told Reuters that the study was “completely fictional and erroneous,” claiming that it made “worst-case assumptions.”
America’s oil refiners are currently required to mix around 15 billion gallons of ethanol into the nation’s gas every year as a result of 2005’s U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard law, which was introduced to reduce emissions, support farmers, and cut U.S. dependence on energy imports.
The law established standards for 2022. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing its biofuel policy and considering making changes to the program. The agency plans to present 2023 requirements in May. In the meantime, President Biden is looking to review biofuel policy as part of a larger effort to decarbonize America.
