[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 74 (Monday, May 7, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S5660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for Mr. Obama (for himself and Mr. Harkin)):
  S. 1324. A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions from transportation fuel sold in the United States; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, we heard from a panel of top climate change 
experts from around the world earlier this year that global warming is 
a certainty and that most of the temperature increase is very likely 
due to rising greenhouse gas concentrations. Reducing America's 
dependence on oil should be one of our top priorities, but any policy 
that affects our production and consumption of fuel must also address 
the pressing problem of global warming. Because the oil used in the 
U.S. transportation sector accounts for about one-third of our nation's 
emissions of greenhouse gases, we must adopt a policy that curtails 
these emissions in an effective manner.
  Today, along with Senator Harkin, I am introducing the National Low-
Carbon Fuel Standard Act of 2007, which calls for a reduction in the 
lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of the transportation fuels sold in 
the U.S. of 5 percent in 2015 and 10 percent in 2020. These reductions 
can play an important role in stemming the dangerous transformation of 
our climate.
  According to one estimate, the National Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, 
NLCFS, would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 180 
million metric tons in 2020. This is the equivalent of taking over 30 
million cars off the road. If enacted in conjunction with the bill I 
introduced earlier this year to raise fuel efficiency standards, the 
NLCFS would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 530 million metric 
tons in 2020, the equivalent of taking over 50 million cars off the 
road.
  The effect on our oil imports would also be dramatic. By making 
greater use of home-grown, renewable fuels, the NLCFS could reduce the 
annual consumption of gasoline derived from foreign oil imports by 
about 30 billion gallons in 2020.
  The NLCFS will greatly expand the market for domestic renewable fuels 
such as corn-based ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, and biodiesel. By one 
estimate, the NLCFS will create a market for over 40 billion gallons of 
biofuels by 2020. To provide near-term demand certainty for renewable 
fuel producers, the bill expands the Renewable Fuel Standard 
established in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require 15 billion 
gallons of renewable fuel by 2012.
  The bill also contains a minimum requirement for fuels with lifecycle 
greenhouse gas emissions that are 50 and 75 percent lower than 
gasoline. This requirement signals to investors that there will be a 
market for advanced fuels with ultra-low carbon emissions, but still 
allows significant leeway for fuel blenders to choose the optimal mix 
of fuels to meet their overall greenhouse gas emissions targets.
  Because the NLCFS will encourage a rapid expansion of our domestic 
renewable fuels production capacity, the bill contains provisions that 
protect sensitive areas like national wildlife refuges, national parks, 
old-growth forests, national grasslands, and national forests. The bill 
calls for an assessment of the impacts of the expansion compared to the 
business-as-usual scenario of continued reliance on petroleum-based 
transportation fuels, and the development of standards by 2012 to 
protect air, land, and water quality. This approach strikes a balance 
between the need to rapidly expand our domestic renewable fuel 
production capacity and the need to ensure sustainability and 
environmental protection. I urge my colleagues to support the National 
Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Act.

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