U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard: Challenges and opportunities on the path to decarbonizing the transportation sector

The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has failed to meet Congressional goals for cellulosic biofuels, instead remaining dominated by land-intensive corn ethanol. The current structure lacks incentives for producers to reduce carbon intensity beyond fixed thresholds and fails to prioritize fuels for sectors like aviation that are difficult to electrify. The Clean Air Task Force recommends incorporating carbon intensity scores, limiting conventional biofuel volumes, and directing bioenergy toward hard-to-decarbonize sectors.

• The RFS has failed to meet its original goals for cellulosic biofuels, which were intended to account for 44% of total volume; instead, in 2022, they represented only 3% of the approximately 20 billion gallons of renewable fuel reported.
• Corn ethanol dominates the RFS, accounting for 74% of mandated volumes in 2022, and is associated with adverse impacts on soil, water, and air quality as well as land use change.
• The RFS structure provides no incentive for biofuel producers to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions once they meet the minimum thresholds of 20%, 50%, or 60% reduction.
• The RFS does not prioritize bioenergy for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation; for instance, alternative jet fuel (AJF) receives a lower equivalency value than renewable diesel, incentivizing producers to prioritize on-road transport over aviation.
• Utilizing energy cover crops in a five-state area of the Midwestern U.S. could provide 2.3 billion gallons of ethanol-equivalent biofuel and sequester up to 7.5 million Mg CO2 annually without competing with food production.

APA

Herbstritt, S., Lewis, J., Fallon, K., & Sasso, M. (2023). U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard: Challenges and opportunities on the path to decarbonizing the transportation sector. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2023/06/us-renewable-fuel-standard-challenges-opportunities-path-decarbonizing-transportation-sector/

Chicago

Herbstritt, Stephanie, Jonathan Lewis, Kathy Fallon, and Mary Sasso. U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard: Challenges and opportunities on the path to decarbonizing the transportation sector. Clean Air Task Force, 2023. https://www.catf.us/2023/06/us-renewable-fuel-standard-challenges-opportunities-path-decarbonizing-transportation-sector/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Herbstritt |first1=Stephanie |last2=Lewis |first2=Jonathan |last3=Fallon |first3=Kathy |last4=Sasso |first4=Mary |title=U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard: Challenges and opportunities on the path to decarbonizing the transportation sector |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=13 June 2023 |url=https://www.catf.us/2023/06/us-renewable-fuel-standard-challenges-opportunities-path-decarbonizing-transportation-sector/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{herbstritt2023renewable, author = {Herbstritt, Stephanie and Lewis, Jonathan and Fallon, Kathy and Sasso, Mary}, title = {{U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard: Challenges and opportunities on the path to decarbonizing the transportation sector}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www.catf.us/2023/06/us-renewable-fuel-standard-challenges-opportunities-path-decarbonizing-transportation-sector/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }