Biofuel, farm groups file suit over EPA auto standards

Road fuel industry representatives have filed suit before the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) finalization of tailpipe emissions standards.

The finalized EPA standards would force automakers to decrease the CO2 emissions of cars and trucks made between 2027 and 2032.

The brief draws support from 56 groups, rangingfrom agriculture labor unions, the automotive industry and the American Farm Bureau Federation to organizations representing shipping, retail fuel distributors, petroleum refiners, biofuel producers, manufacturing, and corn grower associations.

Several petitioners behind the brief filed a lawsuit in June of this year following regulations that the EPA said would cut road fuel consumption by 2.6mn b/d.

The petitioners assert the claim that the EPA lacks statutory authority to regulate tailpipe emissions and that the regulations currently in place would favor electric vehicles over internal combustion engine automobiles. Fewer internal combustion vehicles soften the demand for renewable fuels as a result, the filers argue. According to the EPA, electric vehicles made up 7.5pc of light and medium duty vehicle sales in 2022, but by 2032, 68pc of corresponding sales must be electric vehicles to comply with the regulation.

The brief goes on to scrutinize the EPA's calculations used to craft policy that support electric vehicle adoption, suggesting the finalized standards fail to account for emissions created in the production of electric vehicles as well as the ability of renewable fuels to lower emissions as a substitute good.

The Renewable Fuels Association, one of the petitioners named in the brief, voiced its concerns that the EPA ignores the benefits of high octane ethanol and more fuel efficient internal combustion engines' ability to lower emissions at a lower cost to domestic consumers. It also said the tailpipe emissions standards would conflict with Congress' Renewable Fuel Standard (RFA), which mandates set volumes of biofuel in the nation's road fuel supply.

"While we certainly share the Biden administration's vision for reducing carbon emissions from transportation, EPA's tailpipe rule is clearly the wrong way to pursue that goal and the agency obviously overstepped its authority," RFA chief executive Geoff Cooper said.

The Illinois Corn Growers Association echoed the sentiments from the perspective of the agricultural sector, as president Dave Rylander voiced the industry group's goals of building a robust farm economy while opposing the EPA's regulations as they "exceed their authority as a government agency and jeopardize farm family profitability."

The group claims that President Joe Biden's administration's target for electric vehicle growth will have adverse effects on corn demand by way of decreases in biofuel production.

The EPA is expected to respond by 26 November. Members of the US House of Representatives have drafted a joint resolution attempting to block the standards from going into effect.

By Matthew Cope