Number: 2017-03
WHEREAS, Congress created the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to expand our nation’s renewable fuels sector, reduce greenhouse gas pollution, and reduce America’s reliance on imported oil by requiring that an increasing amount of renewable fuel replace or be blended into transportation fuel, heating oil or jet fuel each year; and
WHEREAS, the Renewable Fuels Standard was expanded and extended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, significantly increasing the size of the blend requirement by setting an ultimate target of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended by 2022, including progressively larger amounts of cellulosic biofuels, biomass-based diesel, and other advanced biofuels; and
WHEREAS, the amount of cellulosic biofuel produced has been far less than envisioned when the law was passed, leading to the Environmental Protection Agency using its waiver authority to substantially reduce the minimum requirements for cellulosic biofuel and advanced biofuel, without substantially reducing the amount of biofuels expected to come from conventional corn-based ethanol production; and
WHEREAS, the US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service studies say that the increasing requirements for renewable fuels has increased the demand for corn and other biofuel feedstocks, so that one-third of the annual US corn crop now goes to supply ethanol plants and over one-quarter of the annual US soybean crop goes to supply biodiesel plants, driving up corn and soybean prices, encouraging the conversion of native prairie and other grasslands to cropland, shifting crop production towards corn and soybean production, and increasing resource-intensive practices like continuous corn, additional irrigation and increased fertilizer use; and
WHEREAS, the National Academies of Science concluded in 2011 that the Renewable Fuel Standard “is not likely to be met,” and “Even if RFS is to be achieved, it may not be effective in addressing global greenhouse-gas emissions because the extent of emission reductions depends to a great degree on how the biofuels are produced and what land-use or land-cover changes occur in the process; ” and the National Academy of Sciences expert panel projects that an additional 30 to 60 million acres of cropland could be required to produce enough biomass to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard by 2022; and
WHEREAS, millions acres of native prairie and other important wildlife habitat throughout the United States have been plowed under or killed with herbicide to make way for more corn and soybean plants to produce ethanol and biodiesel under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard; and
WHEREAS, large-scale conversion of native prairie, other grasslands, and forests to cropland in the US and elsewhere to produce biofuels and to replace the cropland diverted to grow biofuel feed stocks can release carbon now stored in the soil and in trees and other plants, reduce wildlife habitat, increase pressure on water resources, and result in a net increase in greenhouse gas and other air and water pollution, that would more than offset the benefits gained from producing biofuels; and
WHEREAS, alternatives exist in the transportation sector to reduce net greenhouse gas pollution and reduce America’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, including electrification of vehicles which can then rely on wind, solar and other renewable energy.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges Congress, federal agencies and states to promote truly sustainable biofuels, including advanced and cellulosic biofuels, through better implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard and incentives for these cleaner fuels, allowing them to replace oil and less sustainable biofuels over time; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges Congress to reduce the total amount of ethanol mandated under the Renewable Fuel Standard, requiring that additional increases in fuel consumption come from advanced and cellulosic biofuels that are replacing less sustainable corn-based ethanol production; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges Congress to put in place sufficient mitigation funding to directly conserve and restore habitat and improve water quality in areas that have been most impacted by crop expansion; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation is committed to working with producers and Congress to identify solutions that support this transition to truly sustainable biofuels; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges the Environmental Protection Agency to better enforce current law to prohibit the growing of energy crops on newly converted land rather than taking an aggregate approach that ignores conversion of new land; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports the production of truly sustainable biofuels produced in a way that does not negatively impact biodiversity, habitat, and water quality and quantity, and supports sustainable biofuel certification efforts, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges Congress and states to promote the transition of America’s transportation sector towards electric vehicles, allowing our transportation needs to be met with solar, wind and other renewable energy sources which have less impact on wildlife, and targeting the use of truly sustainable biofuels towards jet fuel and shipping, for which fewer alternatives exist.