Science indicates that we need to reduce global warming pollution to at least 80 percent below 1990 emissions levels by 2050 if we are going to avoid the worst effects of global warming. The transportation sector accounts for roughly 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, so in order to reach our goal, it will require significant reductions from the transportation sector.
To get these reductions, it will be necessary to reduce the number of miles that we travel, increase the fuel efficiency of our cars, and develop cleaner fuels. The U.S. needs to develop alternative fuel sources that can reduce our dependence on oil and our vulnerability to global price swings while reducing the carbon intensity of our fuels
The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is a policy designed to ensure that we do not expand our use of dirty fuels that have a higher carbon intensity than non-synthetic oil and to mandate the development and use of fuels that have a lower carbon intensity than gasoline.
The LCFS mandates that producers and refiners of fuels reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels that they sell as compared to petroleum. A low carbon fuel standard does not inhibit the amount of fuels that are produced, or how much driving is done, it only ensure that the fuels that we us have a smaller impact on climate change.
