How Do Biofuels Impact Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
Biofuels have been promoted to enhance U.S. energy independence and reduce the environmental impacts of burning petroleum-based fuels. Yet many aspects of biofuels are now controversial, from their impact on food prices and farm runoff to questions about how production might affect global land use patterns in ways that could increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Despite the difficulties involved, the federal government must come up with a way to quantify the lifecycle GHG emissions for various biofuels feedstocks in order to implement the Renewable Fuel Standard of the Energy Independence and Security Act (P.L. 110-140). This briefing explored the progress, challenges, and issues surrounding the development of lifecycle GHG emissions modeling for biofuels.
