California pursues low-carbon fuel constraints

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California on Wednesday is expected to adopt landmark rules to curb carbon emissions from transportation fuels despite intense opposition from some who say the proposal is biased against corn-based ethanol.

If adopted by the state's influential air quality regulators, the low-carbon fuel standard would become the first measure in the nation to impose on motor fuels limits on the amount of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

Similar rules are under consideration in 11 other states that are waiting for California to act. President Barack Obama also has called for a nationwide low-carbon fuel standard to help meet his goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions more than 80 percent by mid-century.

California's proposal takes a sweeping "cradle-to-grave" approach that aims to reduce the carbon footprint of fuels from production to combustion. It also seeks to spur development of cleaner-burning alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuels that will help abate climate change and reduce oil imports.

Transportation alone accounts for 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California, which ranks as the nation's leading automobile market.

"It's a model for the country and other nations in that it provides a mechanism to move away from today's carbon-intensive fuels toward tomorrow's cleaner, more sustainable fuels," said Patricia Monahan, state director for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The new standard would require refineries, producers and importers of motor fuels sold in California to reduce the "carbon intensity" of their products 10 percent by 2020, with greater cuts thereafter.

ETHANOL BIAS?