BIOFUEL: NRDC Says EPA Biofuel Rule Keeps Real Renewables in Energy Mix

WASHINGTON February 3, 2010; President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the country’s renewable fuel standard today.

The following is a statement from Nathanael Greene, NRDC’s director of renewable energy policy:

“The final rule confirms that some biofuels reduce global warming and some pollute more than gasoline and diesel. This proves how important it is to put policies in place to make sure public dollars go to support real renewable energy instead of going after options that do not work and could actually do more harm than good.

“With the tools that EPA has developed, we can finally start to hold biofuel corporations accountable.

“The only way to invest into biofuel programs correctly is to make sure the public gets real environmental protection for our climate, our water, our wildlife and our health.

“This rule will help us move beyond corn ethanol but it will not do it alone. Reforming the bio tax credits, focusing on government incentives for American innovation and jobs so we get the first billion gallons of the best biofuels into the market, and ultimately evolving to a Low Carbon Fuel Standard like the one adopted in California are the best next steps.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.3 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.