The Climate Cost of the RFS

The Clean Air Task Force and analyst Steve Brick found that the additional 4.5 billion gallons of corn ethanol mandated by the RFS between 2010 and 2015 result in lifecycle GHG emissions 28% higher than an equivalent amount of gasoline, totaling 1.4 billion tons CO2e compared to 1.1 billion tons CO2e. The document notes that these emissions will not be lower than gasoline until 2054 and argues that such frontloaded emission increases complicate global climate mitigation efforts.

• Analysis by the Clean Air Task Force and Steve Brick, using EPA assumptions, indicates that the 4.5 billion gallons of corn ethanol mandated by the RFS between 2010 and 2015 produce lifecycle GHG emissions 28% higher than an equivalent volume of gasoline, representing 1.4 billion tons CO2e versus 1.1 billion tons CO2e.
• The corn ethanol produced under the RFS during the 2010-2015 period is not expected to achieve lifecycle emissions lower than those of gasoline until the year 2054.
• The document argues that the RFS creates a climate risk by frontloading emission increases, which complicates mitigation; it suggests that the potential benefits of advanced biofuels are uncertain and unlikely to offset the actual harm caused by the conventional corn ethanol mandate.

APA

Brick, S. (2012). The Climate Cost of the RFS. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093438/201207-Cost-of-RFS-BAU-Climate.pdf

Chicago

Brick, Steve. The Climate Cost of the RFS. Clean Air Task Force, 2012. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093438/201207-Cost-of-RFS-BAU-Climate.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brick |first1=Steve |title=The Climate Cost of the RFS |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=July 2012 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093438/201207-Cost-of-RFS-BAU-Climate.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brick2012climate, author = {Brick, Steve}, title = {{The Climate Cost of the RFS}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2012}, month = jul, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093438/201207-Cost-of-RFS-BAU-Climate.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }