H.R.2409 - Draft Bill by Rep Peterson on Indirect Land Use Changes

House Ag leaders offer plan to alter mandates' biomass, emissions language
(05/15/2009)

As if there was any doubt after last week's barrage of criticism from members of the... (More) House Ag leaders offer plan to alter mandates' biomass, emissions language
(05/15/2009)

As if there was any doubt after last week's barrage of criticism from members of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee to the way the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is calculating indirect effects of expanding biofuels production, a group of nearly 50 congressmen, including House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK), introduced a bill (H.R.. 2409) to "correct flawed provisions in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that are limiting the potential for clean, homegrown renewable biofuels to meet our nation's energy needs." (A draft version of the text of the bill can be found here.)

According to Committee's press release, "the bill eliminates the requirement that the Environmental Protection Agency consider indirect land use when calculating the greenhouse gas emissions associated with advanced biofuels. Currently, there is no reliable method to predict accurately how biofuel production will affect land use in the United States or internationally. The bill also puts the Energy and Agriculture departments, rather than EPA, in charge of assessing lifecycle emissions. Peterson and other critics of assessing indirect land-use changes say the science is too crude to measure how, for instance, using more U.S. crops for fuel can lead to forest clearing in other countries to create new farmland. But environmentalists contend that ripple effects from biofuels production that can lead to release of stored carbon when new land is cleared elsewhere must be considered.

As this blog has noted, Republican Senators Thune and Grassley have introduced a similar measure in the Senate. Given that the inclusion of indirect effects from growing biofuels comes from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the fate of these bills appear dim. Of note, environmentalist are clamoring that the proposed rule is too weak, presumably because they don't want Speaker Pelosi to get any ideas.

Peterson last week said he would not vote for the climate bill that Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is trying to move through that panel, claiming he did not trust EPA enough to carry the measure out. Peterson told news outlets on Wednesday he has been unsuccessful in addressing his concerns about biofuels issues with Waxman and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Waxman's collaborator on the climate bill. Asked if more discussions are planned, Peterson cited the bill he was drafting that was unveiled yesterday. “My position is unless that bill passes, and is signed by the president, we are not going to talk to anybody,” he said. (Less)

Category:	Government Docs
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Upload Date:	05/15/2009
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Tags:	biofuels RFS indirect land use changes iluc renewable fuel standard h.r.2409 biofuels RFS indirect land use changes iluc renewable fuel standard h.r.2409 (fewer)

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