Washington, D.C. – Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor released the following statement in response to a highly misleading article from Reuters about ethanol’s climate benefits. The latest story recycles the same “flawed interpretation of data” the outlet admitted to publishing this September before withdrawing the report.
“It’s astonishing that the editors at Reuters would allow this to slip by after the same reporter revealed the same shocking bias just a few short months ago,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. “The author misrepresented Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data to suggest that we should only focus on immediate emissions from producing biofuel, rather than emissions reductions from using biofuels to replace petroleum over time. By that logic, we’d never build windmills or solar panels either.’
“Glaringly, the reporter also misleadingly touts the most outdated elements of EPA’s review – those based on inflated land use projections that the rest of the scientific community replaced with real-world data years ago. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) responded to similar claims in a letter to Growth Energy, acknowledging the scientific consensus – backed by the nation’s best climate modelers – shows that U.S. ethanol slashes greenhouse gas emissions by 44 to 52 percent.
“To overcome the world’s climate challenges, we must be guided by the best available science, which shows that biofuels are vital to reaching net zero,” Skor continued. “It’s disappointing that Reuters would sacrifice its journalistic standards to parrot bogus claims we hear from fossil fuel lobbyists.”
To get accurate facts on low-carbon biofuels, visit Growth Energy’s climate solutions page.
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