If a compromise between the House Agriculture Committee Chairman and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman is passed on the Waxman-Markey energy and cap trade bill, then the Environmental Protection Agency could be prohibited from imposing indirect land use change metrics on biofuels in the new Renewable Fuels Standard for five years.
The ban would apply while research is conducted by the National Academies of Science on the issue, after which, the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy will, along with the EPA administrator, jointly decide to accept or reject the findings.
According to the Renewable Fuel Standard, biofuels must meet the specified lifecycle greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to qualify. The law states that lifecycle emissions are to include direct emissions and significant indirect emissions such as those from land use changes – the provision for indirect land use metrics only applies to biofuels.
The ability to calculate future indirect land use changes is limited by the lack of land use models and sufficient information regarding input data.
The amendment will require the National Academies to evaluate whether there are economic and environmental models that can project indirect land use changes related to the production of renewable fuels; and the indirect effects related to production and importation of non-renewable transportation fuels.
The report must be completed within three years of enactment of the legislation. The compromise goes to a vote in the House this week.
