SACRAMENTO - Further evidence that renewable transportation fuels are rapidly replacing fossil fuels was presented today when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released the 2016 Compliance Report for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). It shows 100 percent compliance with the regulation.

“Full compliance is further evidence that the LCFS is working as designed,” said Executive Officer Richard Corey. “This means that cleaner, renewable fuels encouraged by the program are now replacing hundreds of millions of gallons of fossil fuel every year and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as other pollutants.”

The LCFS requires transportation fuel producers to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuels 10 percent by 2020. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are counted at all stages of production, known as “well-to-wheel” life cycle analysis.

The LCFS was developed to help California achieve AB 32’s 2020 reduction target of a return to 1990 levels of GHG emissions. The program is also important for reaching the 2030 GHG reduction target set by the Governor and the Legislature. That new target requires GHG emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels. 

The program is providing consumers with an increasing volume of cleaner fuels. As an example, in 2016, renewable liquid fuels displaced over 400 million gallons of diesel, and more than 80 million gallons were displaced by renewable natural gas. There are 224 companies reporting in the LCFS. Of those, 54 generated credit deficits for fuels with carbon intensity above the desired baseline and were required to make up for the shortfall. All obligations were fulfilled.

In 2016, the industry continued to over-comply with the regulation, generating 9.1 million credits against 6.8 million deficits. 
Since the start of the program in 2011 it has generated credits representing 25.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emission reductions. That equals over-compliance of  9.7 million metric tons, and means that GHG emission reductions are occurring ahead of schedule.

Full 2016 compliance information is available here (https://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/ccm_051217.pdf).

Learn more about the LCFS here (https://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/lcfs.htm).