Americans for Energy Security and Innovation (AESI) released the following statement on a deceptive attack by Smarter Fuel Future on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). A new ad released by Smart Fuel Future—an organization that openly represents the oil industry—uses outdated, false claims that the RFS increases greenhouse gas emissions and raises the price of food:
“The Renewable Fuel Standard is America’s most successful energy policy, and recent scientific studies have proven that it has helped to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to studies used by the United States Department of Energy, using corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent compared to regular gasoline while advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol can achieve reductions in greenhouse gases of 86 percent or higher.
“Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office has analyzed how the RFS will impact our economy and determined that it will have no significant impact on food prices.“The myths about the RFS in this ad are false and this ad is nothing more than a dishonest attempt by a big oil front group to undermine the success of this worthy policy. Instead of citing actual facts, RFS critics are forced to peddle the same phony claims that have been repeatedly debunked by the scientific community.”
Myth V. Fact: Correcting false attacks on the Renewable Fuel StandardABLE FUEL STANDARD
MYTH: “Ethanol Nearly Doubles Greenhouse Gas Emissions” (“Inconvenient Fact,” Smarter Fuel Future, 10/15/15)
FACT: The oil industry ads rely on a 2008 study authored by Tim Searchinger to make this claim. First, Tim Searchinger has a long history of criticizing the RFS as a representative of groups funded by the oil industry. (Biofuels Journal, October 16, 2015). Second, it is not a well-regarded analysis by experts in the field, in part because it models a scenario in which 30 billion gallons of corn ethanol are used (the RFS caps corn ethanol at 15 billion gallons). Third, the overwhelming majority of more recent scientific analysis confirms the carbon benefits of corn ethanol, including work done by U.S. EPA, the California Air resources Board, the Department of Energy, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and at least a dozen universities. (DOE Argonne Lab, Dec. 2012; University of Chicago, School of Integrative Biology, 9/14/15; “New Study: Biofuel Use Saved 589.3 Million Tons of Carbon Emissions Over the Past Decade,” BIO, Press Release, 8/24/15). In fact, corn ethanol has generated more than 60% of the credits to date in the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard. (CARB presentation, 9/25/2014)
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