Sacramento, CA – General Wesley Clark, Co-Chairman of Growth Energy, a group committed to the promise of agriculture and growing America’s economy through cleaner, greener energy, released the following statement on today’s California Air Resources Board (ARB) hearing on the proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS):
“Today’s ARB hearing has the potential to accelerate or freeze America’s drive towards energy independence,” said General Clark. “Governor Schwarzenegger and the ARB’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions can move to the next level if the Board adopts an LCFS that treats all fuels equally. However, adopting an LCFS that selectively applies one standard for biofuels and another for all other fuels, including gasoline, is not equitable, would cripple the ethanol industry and all but guarantee America’s continued dependence on fossil fuels.
“This is an issue of fairness,” added Clark. “We support an LCFS that treats all fuels fairly. This one, however, does not. The section of the LCFS dealing with indirect effects under consideration by ARB staff would impose unfair standards in calculating the carbon intensity of fuels as part of the LCFS and must be rejected. The ARB staff call for the adoption of a new and highly uncertain carbon penalty against biofuels only is derived from an empirically flawed process that is not based on real world data. This Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) penalty would penalize only biofuels while ignoring the significant indirect effects of all other fuel types, including gasoline. For example, in a study released on Monday which was also submitted to the ARB, researchers at the University of Nebraska found that military action in the Middle East raises the greenhouse gas intensity of gasoline by two-fold.”
Clark continued, “There is no doubt that understanding all fuel types’ direct and indirect costs is important, as is developing sounder science regarding the ILUC theory. But this is a fundamental fairness issue at stake here, and this is too important of a policy change not to get right.
“We are asking the ARB to adopt the direct effects of the LCFS now, while taking the time they need to study indirect effects, evaluate its impacts across the entire energy spectrum, and apply the science fairly across all fuel pathways. This is the path to energy independence and the key to California’s renewable fuels future,” Clark summarized.
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About Growth Energy
Growth Energy is a group committed to the promise of agriculture and growing America’s economy through cleaner, greener energy. Growth Energy members recognize America needs a new ethanol approach. Through smart policy reform and a proactive grassroots campaign, Growth Energy promotes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding the use of ethanol in gasoline, decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating American jobs at home. More information can be found at GrowthEnergy.org.