By Cindy Zimmerman
The U.S. Department of Agriculture received lots of input from biofuels groups this week on how to prove the impact of climate-smart farming practices on the greenhouse gas (GHG) net emissions estimates associated with the production of domestic agricultural commodities used as biofuel feedstocks, in response to a Federal Register request last month. The Request for Information is expected to inform the U.S. Treasury’s upcoming proposed rule for implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean fuel production credit, otherwise known as the “45Z credit.”
The Renewable Fuels Association urged the use of a “book-and-claim” accounting framework for tracking and transferring the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices through the biofuels supply chain.
According to RFA’s comments, “Decoupling CSA attributes from the physical feedstock and allowing the renewable fuel producer to use book-and-claim accounting would encourage widespread adoption of CSA practices by growers and broad incorporation of CSA emissions improvements into biofuel lifecycle carbon intensity values. At the same time, book-and-claim accounting will allow the grain market to continue operating rationally and efficiently for all participants.”
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) stressed the need to use the Department of Energy’s GREET model to quantify emissions and greenhouse gas (GHG) credits associated with the production of biofuel feedstocks.
ACE comments included progress that has been made to monetize CSA practices and ensure corn ethanol is part of the climate solution through its USDA-funded Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) projects, as well as soil organic carbon studies and a carbon intensity calculator tool.
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