Back in 2016 I wrote a long post about biodiesel, explaining what it is made from (mostly vegetable oil) and arguing that EPA should show restraint in setting targets for biodiesel because of the limited availability oils and fats and the harmful consequences of drawing too heavily from these limited sources. The world has changed in many ways since 2016, but the large-scale diversion of vegetable oil from food to fuel remains a bad idea. Now it is California policymakers’ turn to establish sensible guardrails on fuel policies to avoid creating problems in California, and around the world.
Since 2016, EPA has generally shown restraint in setting targets for biodiesel and related fuels, insofar as the law allows, and biodiesel consumption has actually fallen. But in its place renewable diesel is booming, produced in large oil refineries retrofitted for the purpose and…
Read the full article originally published at blog.ucsusa.org.