California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard was announced on January 18th, 2007, through Executive Order S-1-07. The LCFS creates a state-wide goal of reducing the carbon intensity of California’s transportation fuel by 10% by 2020 and applies to all fuel providers, including refiners, blenders, producers and importers.

Since early 2007, a team of researchers from UC Davis and UC Berkeley have been collaborating on a joint study of the LCFS. This project will provide the ARB Stationary Source Division technical and advisory support in the effort to develop and implement California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

RECENT DEVELOPMENT

Letters on Indirect Land Use Change

• Scientists across the nation counsel California to regulate Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Letter by Blake A. Simmons et al to Chairwoman Nichols (June 24, 2008) (pdf)
• Respond letter by UC researchers and others to Chairwoman Nichols (July 3, 2008) (pdf)
• Respond letter by Tim Searchinger to Chairwoman Nichols (July 2, 2008) (pdf)
  

UC LCFS projects currently funded by CARB and the Energy Foundation (project title and lead author(s))

1. Uncertainty in fuel GHG reduction. Mike O’Hare and Erin Palermo (UC Berkeley).
2. GHGs from cultivation, fertilizer and LUC. Mark Delucchi (UC Davis).
3. International aspects of LCFS. Alex Farrell (UC Berkeley, unfinished)
4. Economic aspects of LCFS. Chis Knittel (UC Davis)
5. Compliance strategies of meeting the LCFS. Sonia Yeh, Nathan Parker (UC Davis)
6. Accounting for Market-Mediated Land Use Change in California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Jones, Plevin, and O'Hare (UC Berkeley), Hertel, Tyner (Purdue)
7. Sustainability and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Sabrina Spatari. (UC Berkeley)
8. Water impacts of CA biofuel production. Kevin Fingerman (UC Berkeley)
9. The future of Low Carbon Fuel Standard in California. Dan Kammen (UC Berkeley)
10. An innovation and policy agenda for commercially competitive plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. D M Lemoine, D M Kammen and A E Farrell (UC Berkeley)
11. Analysis of Uncertainty in Estimating Indirect LUC. Richard Plevin (UC Berkeley)
12. California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (Sperling, Farrell and Yeh)
13. Proper accounting for time in crop-competitive biofuels’ LCA further increases their GHG deficit relative to petroleum. Mike O'Hare (UC Berkeley)
    

Workshops and Meetings:

5th Annual Forum of the California Biomass Collaborative: Joint Forum on Bioenergy Sustainability and Lifecycle Analysis, May 28-30, 2008. Sacramento, CA.

Highlights:

UC Researchers

• Principles of Sustainability, Dan Kammen, Energy and Resources Group, UC Berkeley

• Biomass Energy and Agricultural Sustainability, Steve Kaffka, California Biomass Collaborative

• Lifecycle Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Biofuels, Mark Delucchi (by Alissa Kendall), UC Davis

• Technological, Climate Change, and Sustainability Aspects of Future Transportation Fuels, Sabrina Spatari, UC Berkeley

• The Role of LCA in Characterizing Sustainability, Sonia Yeh, UC Davis

Other Important Presentations

• Sustainability and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Bob Fletcher, California Air Resources Board

• Modeling Land Use Impacts on Greenhouse Gas Performance Thresholds, Robert Larson, US EPA-National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Lab

• The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels: Ensuring that Biofuels Deliver on their Promise of Sustainability, Charlotte Opal, Roundtable on Sustainable Bioenergy

  British Columbia: Climate Change and Energy Policy, Paul Wieringa, B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

Round Table Discussion on Modeling Land Use Change Impacts of Future Transportation Fuels, March 17, 2008. University of California, Davis, CA.

As part of UC’s effort to provide the ARB Stationary Source Division technical and advisory support in the effort to develop and implement California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis and the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at University of California, Berkeley organized an one-day workshop to discuss the technical and policy challenges of the land use change impacts of future transportation fuels.

Our goal of the meeting is to have an open discussion on modeling land use changes of future transportation fuels, and invite different government agencies to share information about their work. The UC team also presented our research, plans and progress for feedbacks and comments.

- Agenda

- Presentation: Alex Farrell, “Policy and analytic contexts of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard" (the version presented at the meeting was not available. A similar version to this presentation can be found here).

- Hertel and Tyner, “Analysis of Indirect Land Use Impacts of Biofuel Programs"

- Delucchi, “Incorporating price effect on LCA” “Reversion of land use and amortization of emissions”

Emerging Viewpoints Presented at Public seminars:

• Daniel Sperlling (6/3/08) "Overview Presentation on LCFS" National Conference on Low Carbon Fuel Standards for Canada, June 3-4 2008, Toronto.
• Sonia Yeh (6/3/08) "Implementing California’s LCFS: Technical and Policy Challenges" National Conference on Low Carbon Fuel Standards for Canada, June 3-4 2008, Toronto.
• Mike O'Hare (6/3/08) "Indirect Land Use Change and its Implications for Biofuels" National Conference on Low Carbon Fuel Standards for Canada, June 3-4 2008, Toronto.
• Nathan Parker (5/9/08) "Compliance Pathways for Meeting the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in California - Biofuel Supply Curves" (PDF-3.5mb)