Dunn calls for study to examine potentially harmful biofuel impacts

Alarming new data cites environmental risk, unintended consequences

In response to growing evidence on the adverse impacts of biofuel, Metropolitan King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn, Chair of the Council’s Regional Transit Committee, today introduced legislation calling for a full “life-cycle analysis” of the canola-based biodiesel fuel blend that is currently being used extensively by the King County Metro bus fleet.

“We need to determine if, in fact, our biofuel policies are worsening climate change and leading to higher food prices around the world,” said Dunn. “We also need to see if county taxpayers are at additional financial risk because we are a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange.”

Recent reports from global leaders and the scientific world are increasingly concluding that biofuels, such as corn ethanol, sugarcane ethanol, and biodiesel are leading to severe unintended consequences. Peer-reviewed science journals, and international organizations are now indicating that biofuels may actually do more damage to the environment than fossil fuels and contribute to world hunger. A full life-cycle analysis of the canola biodiesel will determine the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact generated throughout the entire development of the fuel. It examines the impacts from land-clearing, planting, harvesting, transportation, biodiesel conversion, blending, and usage of the fuel.

In addition to environmental impacts, Dunn is asking the Executive to establish recommendations for alternative climate change mitigation strategies that take into consideration the county’s financial liability as a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Two February 2008 studies published in Science Magazine have sparked a growing controversy about the impact of biofuels on the environment. One study by researchers at Princeton University found that some biofuels, like corn ethanol, can actually double greenhouse emissions. Another by the University of Minnesota, concluded that land-clearing for biofuels leads to increased CO2 emissions. Additional studies show that chemical fertilizers used in biofuel production emit nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas with 296 times the heat-trapping capability of carbon dioxide.

“Too often we are just focused on carbon dioxide, without realizing that other greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and methane are even worse for the environment. Trading CO2 for other heat-trapping gases is not a sustainable environmental strategy,” said Dunn.

In addition to the potential environmental harm, international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the United Nations have stated that biofuel policies may also contribute to higher food prices, as water, fertilizer, and arable land get used up to make fuel. UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon recently called for a full review of biofuel policies. World Bank President Robert Zoellick recently stated that “food inflation could push at least 100 million people into poverty,” while the head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, recently called biofuels “well-intentioned, but yet misguided.”

“Half the world is starving and we are burning food in our gas tanks,” Dunn said. “We need to rethink this policy and examine all of the consequences.”

The 2007 King County Climate Plan demonstrated that approximately 38 percent of all emissions generated by King County government operations come from transportation. King County’s Metro buses and vehicles alone generate approximately 160,048 metric tons of carbon dioxide out of 420,031 total metric tons of carbon dioxide. King County Metro buses utilize approximately 2 million gallons of canola biodiesel annually - a significant increase over previous years.

As a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), King County has an obligation to reduce its carbon emissions by 6 percent below year 2000 levels by 2010. Emissions above this threshold must be offset by the county purchasing carbon pollution credits from the CCX. If a full life-cycle analysis demonstrates that King County’s usage of canola biodiesel negates any gains from carbon sequestration, the county may be required to purchase additional offsets – which have no price cap. Since January 2008, the price of carbon offsets on the CCX have tripled from approximately $2 per metric ton of CO2 to over $6 per metric ton of CO2.

“We need to understand the financial risk of our obligations as a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange. If the short-term fix is to buy more carbon offsets for our pollution, we need to know how much this may cost taxpayers,” said Dunn.