Renewable Fuels Assn. condemns Environmental Working Group's report on corn ethanol, says it relies on overblown assumptions of land use change, falsely giving the appearance that corn ethanol is worse than gasoline for the environment

Allison Oesterle

WASHINGTON , May 29, 2014 (press release) –  Today, the Environmental Working Group released a report titled “Ethanol’s Broken Promise: Using Less Corn Ethanol Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, responded with the following statement:

“Today’s Environmental Working Group report relies upon overblown and disputed assumptions of land use change, making ethanol from corn appear to be worse than gasoline. That’s simply preposterous, particularly when contrasted with the ever-rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from tar sands and fracking. The Department of Energy’s GREET model clearly shows that corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 34 percent compared to gasoline, including hypothetical land use change emissions. Additionally, a Life Cycle Associates study found that corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 37–40 percent when compared to tight oil from fracking and tar sands.”

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