Growth Energy appreciates the opportunity to provide comments for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) consideration on the draft Biofuels and the Environment, Third Triennial Report to Congress (“Draft Triennial Report”).
Growth Energy is the world’s largest association of biofuel producers, representing 90 biorefineries that produce nearly 9 billion gallons annually of low-carbon renewable fuel and 107 businesses associated with the biofuel production process. Together, our members are working to bring better and more affordable choices at the fuel pump to consumers and protect the environment for future generations. We are committed to helping our country diversify its energy portfolio to support more green energy small businesses and jobs, sustain family farms, and reduce the costs of transportation fuels for consumers.
Biofuels are crucial to decarbonizing the transportation sector. Over 99% of light duty vehicles and even higher percentages of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, maritime vessels, and aircraft are currently powered by liquid fuels.
The collective transportation fleet is expected to continue to be powered by liquid fuels for decades. Therefore, the most immediate pathway to meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector is to decarbonize liquid fuels through the displacement of conventional petroleum fuels with biofuels and biofuel blends.
In light of the significant potential for biofuels to deliver low-cost, low-carbon fuel options that make meaningful progress in reducing GHG emissions, it is critical that EPA relies on the best available and most credible science in conducting its environmental assessments.
Growth Energy has consistently provided EPA the latest studies on lifecycle assessment, as well
as objective, credible information on environmental impacts, to ensure it relies on sound science
in making biofuels and climate change regulation and policy.