The Issue
Ethanol is an overlooked “ace” in the effort to tamp down carbon emissions. Despite its decades-long performance knocking out the equivalent of tens of millions of cars, ethanol merits a better stage. So do the people who make it. Farmers and businesses across the agricultural value chain have been unsung heroes whose contributions happen far from the spotlight. That needs to change.
After decades of foot-dragging and chicanery, the energy and transportation sectors are now obsessed by shiny objects they hope will solve rising carbon emissions. But many commonsense clean fuel advocates like ACE are making the case that ethanol can cut carbon pollution right now.
Our Position
Vast volumes of low cost ethanol are available now to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and carbon intensity in transportation. A science-driven lifecycle analysis proves ethanol is better for the environment than gasoline and its overall carbon footprint continues to improve each year. Today, farmers and biorefineries are more efficient than ever. They should get credit for their progress. And they should be embraced as part of the solution to slash vehicle emissions and fight climate change.
What We’re Doing
Above all, ACE fights for the science. Every day we work to ensure that the most up-to-date, technology-neutral lifecycle analysis is the standard by which all transportation fuels are evaluated. To this end, we engage scientists to improve lifecycle models. But we are also holding our industry to an even higher standard. Our board has passed a resolution to support policies that recognize ethanol is a part of the climate and health solution and credit farmers and ethanol producers for activities which help ethanol reduce lifecycle GHGs at least 70% on average compared to gasoline by 2030, and reach net-zero lifecycle GHG emissions by 2050. Ambitious, but achievable.
We’ve also developed and published our exclusive Carbon Intensity (CI) Calculator: a tool for farmers and ethanol producers — and any other interested party — to calculate CI scores. That’s useful for demonstrating overall carbon intensity and to highlight the need for farm-level practices to receive carbon benefits as new carbon policies and clean fuel markets develop.
