GRFA: Look to Ethanol to Support Immediate Action on Climate
(TORONTO) With the 23rd annual UN climate conference (COP23) underway in Bonn, Germany Bliss Baker, the President of the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA), urged negotiators to recognize the still-untapped potential of ethanol to support national goals for reducing GHG emissions. The negotiations underway at the conference are seeking to establish terms for moving forward on the Paris Agreement, reached two years ago at COP21.
With the first week of the conference concluding today, and negotiations set to intensify next week, negotiators have been challenged to agree on terms for immediate climate action.
“As countries discuss opportunities for immediate and effective action that will reduce carbon emissions, the increased use of ethanol in transport fuel represents the most obvious solution” Baker said. “Not only is the use of ethanol demonstrated to be effective at cost-effectively reducing GHG emissions in the transport sector, it can be incorporated using existing fuel infrastructure and auto fleets” he added.
The negotiations at COP23 are focused on achieving the targets laid out in the Paris Agreement, while acknowledging that average global temperature rise is occurring much more quickly than previously projected. As a result, countries are being called upon to accelerate their emission reduction goals for 2030 and to take immediate action.
“There is tremendous potential still available for increasing the use of ethanol. Studies have shown that the global transport sector is responsible for 25-30% of global emissions, while having the lowest renewable energy share of any sector” Baker noted. “Ethanol represents a key solution for countries to increase emission reductions in the short term, and will facilitate the transition to the structural changes that are being developed for the longer term” Baker concluded.
The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting biofuel friendly policies internationally. Alliance members represent over 90% of global biofuels productions. Through the development of new technologies and best practices, Alliance members are committed to producing renewable fuels with the smallest possible footprint.
For more information please contact:
Bliss Baker, President, Global Renewable Fuels Alliance
Telephone: (Country Code “1”) 647 309-0058
Email: [email protected]
Please visit our website at: www.globalrfa.org
