Should the Renewable Fuel Standard be waived in times of drought?

This statement examines whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should waive the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in response to a 2012 drought in the United States that damaged corn and soybean crops. While livestock and dairy producers have petitioned for a waiver to lower corn feed prices, the document argues that such a move would have minimal impact on prices while severely harming the biofuels industry and its long-term goals.

• The EPA has the legal authority to waive the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) if it is determined that the mandate's implementation would cause severe economic harm to the United States, a specific region, or a State.
• For 2012, the EPA required fuel refiners to blend 13.2 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol into gasoline, requiring approximately 4.7 billion bushels of corn. About 35 percent of this volume is returned to the feed market as high-protein feed rations.
• The 2012 corn crop was estimated to be 20 percent or more below pre-drought estimates of 14 billion bushels. The USDA predicted that consumer food prices might rise by three to four percent, with the most significant increases occurring in meat and dairy prices.
• Arguments against waiving the RFS include the fact that ethanol production had already decreased by more than 13 percent since early June 2012, and there was a surplus of over 19 million barrels of ethanol. Additionally, the RFS allows fuel blenders to use tradable credits to shift roughly 2.4 billion gallons of their blending requirement to the following year.
• Analysis by Bruce Babcock of Iowa State University suggests that waiving the RFS would only decrease corn prices by approximately 4.6 percent (28 cents), provided the maximum amount of tradable credits is carried over between marketing years.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2012). Should the Renewable Fuel Standard be waived in times of drought? https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/should-the-renewable-fuel-standard-be-waived-in-times-of-drought

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Should the Renewable Fuel Standard be waived in times of drought? 2012. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/should-the-renewable-fuel-standard-be-waived-in-times-of-drought.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Should the Renewable Fuel Standard be waived in times of drought? |date=3 August 2012 |url=https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/should-the-renewable-fuel-standard-be-waived-in-times-of-drought |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2012should, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Should the Renewable Fuel Standard be waived in times of drought?}}, publisher = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2012}, month = aug, url = {https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/should-the-renewable-fuel-standard-be-waived-in-times-of-drought}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }