'Significant Concerns Remain' Over Proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard Amendments

The 2024 harvest is well underway for many Iowa farmers, including ISA President Brent Swart, who farms with his brother near Spencer. (Photo: Joclyn Bushman/Iowa Soybean Association)

Ankeny, Iowa - The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) this week continued calls urging the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to reconsider recently proposed amendments to its Low Carbon Fuel Standard. If adopted, these changes would impose caps on credits for soy- and canola-based biodiesel and renewable diesel - a move that would directly penalize U.S. soybean farmers and renewable fuel producers while threatening to reverse the progress California has made in emissions reductions.

The letter, authored by ISA President Brent Swart, outlined significant concerns with CARB's current proposals to cap the amount of soybean oil allowed to generate credits in the program and apply onerous sustainability guardrails that add cost without acknowledging farming practices that lower soy's carbon intensity score.

"Iowa soybean farmers remain deeply concerned with the drastic pivot CARB has made in recent months related to agricultural feedstocks used for biofuels," said Swart, who farms near Spencer. "As CARB finalizes its update to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, ISA aligns itself with the American Soybean Association's recommendations that will likely prevent an increase in fossil diesel use, improve carbon intensity score calculations, and improve market access for sustainable agricultural feedstock providers."

According to CARB, biomass-based diesel, including biodiesel and renewable diesel, accounted for 70% of the California diesel pool in the first quarter of 2024 - up from roughly 60% in 2023. In the 2022/23 marketing year, approximately 12.5 billion pounds of soybean oil were used for biomass-based diesel production. This accounts for more than 40% of the total feedstocks used in the industry.

The submitted comments also offered clear, science-based recommendations for CARB that would better position Iowa farmers and renewable fuel producers to play a meaningful role in California's emissions reduction goals in the transportation sector. Among these recommendations were a comprehensive update of the GTAP-BIO model for soybean oil used in biofuel production and establishment of an expert working group to consider issues related to sustainability provisions and indirect land use change.

"We look forward to collaborating with CARB and other stakeholders on implementing policies that expand the use of soy-based biofuels and market opportunities for soybean farmers, while helping to enhance air quality in California and beyond," added Swart.

Read the full set of comments here.

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