Policy News

In the US, the National Chicken Council (NCC) is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce the production volumes proposed for ethanol in 2017 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and reassess the US biofuels policy as a whole. In a statement submitted to the EPA, the council says it finds the proposed 2017 volumes to be “overly aggressive” and “based on…
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Biofuels industry players who wish to say their word on the production volumes in the US next year have only this weekend left to do so. The comment period on US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed renewable volume obligations (RVO) for 2017 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is set to close on 11 July. EPA’s proposal would see the RVO for cellulosic biofuel…
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Members of the US House of Representatives have sent an open letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) questioning how it intends to protect small engine consumers from high ethanol blends. In the letter, 45 Representatives from both parties ask EPA administrator Gina McCarthy how the EPA plans to prevent consumers from accidently misfuelling with E15 and higher blends of ethanol. The…
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The US Environmental Protection Agency’s new methodology for setting annual Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) continues to chill investment in advanced biofuels, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) finds. Based on a new study, BIO says investment patterns demonstrate that EPA is sending a sustained market signal that disincentivises advanced biofuels, causing a $22.4 billion…
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The pile of letters sent to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the planned Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for 2017 keeps on growing. This time around, 39 US Senators are urging EPA administrator Gina McCarthy to ensure the final 2017 ruling “promotes growth in the US biofuel sector and capture economic opportunity rather than drive investment overseas”. The 2017…
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Scientists from ten institutions worldwide are challenging the notion that growing bioenergy crops hinders food production, which they see as harmful to new projects Traditionally in the “food v. fuel” debate, bioenergy crops have been blamed for food shortages as the land used for growing them could have been instead harnessed for food production. But a new report, titled Reconciling…
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing comprehensive steps to address methane emissions from both new and existing sources in the oil and gas sector.   In a statement, the EPA said this news was “a further step in the Obama Administration’s commitment to take action on climate change and protect public health”. For new, modified and reconstructed…
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Ethanol remains as one of the important elements keeping the economy of the US State of Iowa afloat, despite it taking a slight hit in 2015, a new study has found. According to a research published by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), the decline is due to the reductions ethanol faced in the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The study, authored by John Urbanchuk of ABF Economics…
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The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled in favour of Argentina in its row concerning the anti-dumping duties imposed by the EU since 2013 on the biodiesel imported from the country. According to a panel report published on Tuesday, WTO upheld Argentina's claim that the reason stated by the EU authorities during their anti-dumping investigation for disregarding Argentine producers' costs of…
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The US Supreme Court on Tuesday barred President Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) from taking effect until legal challenges against the legislation are solved. In a tight vote of 5-4, the court decided to put the plan on hold after receiving a request from 27 US States, led by Texas and West Virginia, and several businesses to block the CPP. The regulation is intended to lower US power plant…
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A group of US states opposing the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan have gone into court to delay the enforcement of the new regulations. Led by West Virginia and Texas, 25 states have asked the Supreme Court to stop the greenhouse gas reduction rulings from taking effect until after the states’ legal challenge is resolved. The call came after a Washington appeals court denied a…
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China’s Ministry of Commerce (MoC) launched on Tuesday anti-dumping and countervailing duties investigations on US dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) imports. The move comes after complaints from Chinese producers that DDGS from the US were sold at prices “below normal value” which hurts domestic industry, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua. Further…
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Spain has set a mandate for a biofuel blending target of 8.5% in its petrol and diesel supply by 2020. In a statement, the Spanish ministry of Industry, Energy, and Tourism says to reach the target, the country will start by requiring a 4.3% blend from next year, which will be scaled up by the end of the decade. Spain aims to produce 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2020, in line with EU…
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