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Press Release

IEA Report Confirms Growing Green House Gas Reduction from Ethanol Use Warns Against Ignoring Future Innovation in Policymaking

TORONTO – April 1, 2009 – A new report commissioned by the IEA Bioenergy (IEA) underscores the importance of ethanol in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. f1The extensive research paper commissioned by the IEA Bioenergy Task 39 examined green house gas reductions from grain ethanol since 1995 and projected GHG reductions from ethanol out to 2015. The report concluded that GHG reductions will grow by over 100% from 1995 to 2015.

The report, (“An Examination of the Potential for Improving Carbon/Energy Balance of Bioethanol”), performed by (S&T)2 of Canada, explains the variances among studies of ethanol’s ability to reduce GHG relative to gasoline. The report noted that many improvements in both feedstock production (growing corn and other grains) and ethanol production efficiencies have not been accurately or fully factored into lifecycle analyses of ethanol’s GHG emission and energy balance.

Using recent data and basic scientific analysis, the report was unequivocal with respect to GHG reductions from ethanol: “the GHG emissions savings from ethanol production and use have more than doubled between 1995 and the projected level in 2015. This indicates the danger of making policy decision(s) based on historical data without taking into account learning experiences and the potential gains that can be expected as industries develop. The GHG emissions reductions in 2015 from corn ethanol would qualify as advanced biofuels under proposed US regulations.”

The paper found that GHG reductions have grown from approximately 26% in 1995 to over 39% today while projected GHG reductions from ethanol will reach nearly 55% in 2015 with the advent of new technology, process efficiencies and improved yields. Ethanol’s energy balance continues to improve as well, the paper found. For 2005, grain ethanol’s energy balance ratio was estimated at 1:1.42, meaning every unit of energy used to produce ethanol returned 1.42 units of usable energy to the consumer. By 2015, the energy balance ratio is expected to be 1:1.93, a 55% increase in energy efficiency in just 10 years.

Global Renewable Fuels Alliance spokesperson, Bliss Baker, welcomed this international research effort as further evidence of the importance of renewable fuels like ethanol in meeting global energy and environmental challenges. “The report clearly illustrates the ever-improving environmental performance of ethanol compared to gasoline,” Baker said. “This report demonstrates that governments must develop energy policies that take into account the increasing efficiency of global ethanol production and do not rely on out-of-date data and out-dated straw man arguments.”

In addition, the report found that the energy balance of ethanol will also continue to improve through 2015. This conclusion together with the growing reductions in GHG emissions stands in stark contrast to petroleum. According to the re! port, both the energy balance and environmental performance of petroleum will get worse.

”The rapid development of new technologies will make existing ethanol production as well as next generation biofuels increasingly beneficial to global energy and environmental goals,” Baker said. “The bottom line is simple: renewable fuels like ethanol are a simple and effective alternative to increased used of petroleum.

The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting biofuels friendly policies internationally. Alliance members represent over 60% of the global biofuels production from 30 countries. Through the development of new technologies and best practices, the Alliance members are committed to producing renewable fuels with the smallest possible ecological footprint.

More on the IEA:

IEA Bioenergy is an organisation set up in 1978 by the International Energy Agency (IEA) with the aim of improving cooperation and information exchange between countries that have national programmes in bioenergy research, development and deployment.

The International Energy Agency was founded in 1974 as an autonomous body within the OECD to implement an international energy programme in response to the oil shocks. Membership consists of 25 of the 29 OECD member countries. Activities are directed towards the IEA member countries' collective energy policy objectives of energy security, economic and social development, and environmental protection. One important activity undertaken in pursuit of these goals is a programme to facilitate co-operation to develop new and improved energy technologies.

Activities are set up under Implementing Agreements. These are independent bodies operating in a framework provided by the IEA. There are 40 currently active Implementing Agreements, one of which is IEA Bioenergy.