BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — IL Corn Growers Association joined five other state corn associations and other ethanol interest groups in a petition challenging the EPA’s recent greenhouse gas (GHG) tailpipe emissions rule for cars and trucks.
Specifically, the petition asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to set aside EPA’s final GHG standards for passenger cars and light trucks. Although corn farmers support actions to reduce GHG emissions, they are opposed to regulatory actions attempting to mandate a single technology solution to reduce emissions.
“Any assumption that corn farmers who work hand in hand with the earth and are addressing changing weather patterns every day are not supportive of policies to address cleaner air and water is off base. Corn farmers are so committed to these goals that we want to be allowed to be a part of the solution. Policies that choose who can contribute solutions and who cannot are detrimental to the overall goal,” said Martin Marr, IL Corn Growers Association President and farmer from New Berlin, IL.
The corn association petitioners also believe that policies written to exclude any technologies other than electric, stifle the innovation that could create real sustainable change for the future.
This challenge is the result of an unprecedented move from the EPA to transform the future of the U.S. transportation industry, declaring electric vehicles the clear winner. IL Corn and its co-signers understand that for such a significant shift to take place requires an act of Congress with very clear intentions to change the future of internal combustion engines, liquid fuels, and electric vehicles. The challenge to the EPA’s authority and the reason behind it are very consistent with past climate control policies.
“If the policy goal is to address the challenges of climate change, we need regulations that recognize and encourage all low carbon technologies able to contribute to the goal. If EPA’s goal is to unilaterally phase out liquid fuels, it must seek congressional authorization to do so. Absent that, EPA must recognize all pathways to reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector — including liquid fuels,” said Marr.
— IL Corn Growers Association
