Environmental outcomes of the US Renewable Fuel Standard
University of Wisconsin–Madison · Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center · +3 more institutions
Abstract
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) specifies the use of biofuels in the United States and thereby guides nearly half of all global biofuel production, yet outcomes of this keystone climate and environmental regulation remain unclear. Here we combine econometric analyses, land use observations, and biophysical models to estimate the realized effects of the RFS in aggregate and down to the scale of individual agricultural fields across the United States. We find that the RFS increased corn prices by 30% and the prices of other crops by 20%, which, in turn, expanded US corn cultivation by 2.8 Mha (8.7%) and total cropland by 2.1 Mha (2.4%) in the years following policy enactment (2008 to 2016). These changes…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 17.49
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 89
Authors
9- TJTyler J. LarkCorresponding
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
- NHNathan Hendricks
Kansas State University
- ASAaron Smith
University of California, Davis
- NJNicholas J. Pates
University of Kentucky
- SSS. Spawn
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Topics & keywords
- Biofuel
- Corn ethanol
- Renewable energy
- Renewable fuels
- Natural resource economics
- Environmental science
- Climate change mitigation
- Agriculture