Two environmental groups have filed a legal challenge suggesting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) will lead to more conversion of natural ecosystems into farmland.
The Clean Air Task Force, on behalf of Friends of the Earth, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals May 25, stating RFS2 will cause more harm than good.
“EPA’s rule is seriously flawed because it will actually
increase greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector in the near term and exacerbate the very problem that Congress sought to correct.” said Jonathan Lewis, an attorney with the Clean Air Task Force, in a release.
The EPA finalized regulations for its new renewable standards earlier this year, requiring eligible feedstocks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared to fuels made from petroleum.
In its petition, the Clean Air Task Force claimed that several biofuels, including corn-based ethanol, don’t satisfy this requirement. As well, the group stated the EPA’s assumption that the RFS2 won’t contribute to land conversion, is based on outdated data.
In a response, the U.S. Renewable Fuels Association said the EPA has instituted strict protocols to ensure that natural land won’t be converted to grow biofuel crops.
The new standard, the Renewable Fuels Association said, essentially caps the amount of land that can be used for agriculture at the 2007 acreage level.
The new standard, RFS2, is scheduled to become law July 1.
