57 scientists, including six distinguished professors, four past and current department chairs, 19 full professors, and 28 researchers of other ranks signed onto a letter in response to the NY Renews “False Solutions” report.
The full letter is below or can be downloaded here.
March 8, 2021
The undersigned represent a broad array of researchers in academia, government, and NGOs from diverse disciplines who specialize in the study of low-carbon fuels’ environmental, economic, and technical impacts. We strongly disagree with the conclusion of the recent “False Solutions” document that low- carbon fuels are incapable of contributing to the deep decarbonization of New York State’s economy that is mandated by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (specifically, a 100% net reduction to greenhouse gas emissions by 2050). The document relies heavily on a small number of cherry-picked, outdated, and/or unrepresentative studies to reach this conclusion. In doing so, it ignores a large body of more recent scientific research from academia, the national labs, and state regulators in California* demonstrating that many low-carbon fuels are able to make critical, and necessary, contributions to the rapid decarbonization of developed economies such as New York State’s. In addition to decarbonization potential, this research also establishes that many low-carbon fuels provide important and broad ecosystem, economic, and human health benefits to the communities in which they are produced and used. Unfortunately, the “False Solutions” document completely ignores this scientific literature.
New York State faces a task of unprecedented magnitude in the full decarbonization of its economy by 2050. Additionally, it is paramount that the benefits of this decarbonization be experienced by those environmental justice communities that have historically suffered disproportionate harm from fossil fuel pollution. For these reasons it is imperative that the state’s decarbonization process be supported by fact- based policies that reflect the full state of scientific knowledge. To do otherwise will put the CLCPA’s decarbonization mandate at serious risk of failure.
The “False Solutions” document is not representative of the full state of scientific knowledge on low- carbon fuels. We encourage policymakers to utilize this full state of scientific knowledge during the development of the policies that will soon be deployed in support of New York State’s decarbonization mandate.
Signed,
Tristan R. Brown, J.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Energy Resource Economics
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry †
Daniel Sperling, Ph.D.
Distinguished Blue Planet Prize Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science & Policy Institute of Transportation Studies
University of California, Davis
Johannes Lehmann, Ph.D.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Soil and Crop Sciences
School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Department of Global Development Cornell University
Bruce Dale, Ph.D.
University Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering
Michigan State University
Susan M. Williams (Stagg-Williams), Ph.D.
Charles E. & Mary Jane Spahr Professor and Chair of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
University of Kansas
Fengqi You, Ph.D.
Roxanne E. and Michael J. Zak Professor
Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering
Cornell University
Robert Brown, Ph.D.
Anson Marston Distinguished Professor of Engineering Director of the Bioeconomy Institute
Iowa State University
Philip K. Hopke, Ph.D
Bayard D. Clarkson Distiguished Professor Emeritus
Clarkson University
David H. Newman, Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Manuel Garcia-Perez, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Biological Systems Engineering
Washington State University
Thomas A. Trabold, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Head, Golisano Institute for Sustainability
Rochester Institute for Technology
Thomas E. Amidon, Ph.D.
Past Chair of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
David A. Laird, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Soil Science and Environmental Science
Iowa State University
Jefferson Tester, Ph.D.
Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems
Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering
Cornell University
Tom L. Richard, Ph.D.
Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Director, Institutes of Energy and the Environment Pennsylvania State University
Paul F. Mutolo, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Center for Alkaline-based Energy Solutions
Cornell University
Marco J. Castaldi, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemical Engineering
The City College of New York, City University of New York
Dermot Hayes, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics and Finance
Iowa State University
George W. Huber, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Lars Angenent, Ph.D.
Professor of Environmental Biotechnology
University of Tübingen and Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology
Mark T. Holtzapple, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemical Engineering
Texas A&M University
John E. Carlson, Ph.D.
Professor of Molecular Genetics Pennsylvania State University
Robert Malmsheimer, J.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Forest Policy and Law
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
René H. Germain, Ph.D.
Professor and SAF Certified Forester
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Frank M. Mitloehner, Ph.D.
Professor and Air Quality Specialist, Director of CLEAR Center
University of California, Davis
John E. Wagner, Ph.D.
Professor of Forest Resource Economics
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
West Virginia University
Lisa Schulte Moore, Ph.D.
Professor, Natural Resource Ecology and Management Associate Director, Bioeconomy Institute
Iowa State University
Jingxin Wang, Ph.D.
Professor of Wood Science and Technology
Jeff Skousen, Ph.D.
Professor of Soil Science, Division of Plant and Soil Sciences
West Virginia University
Mike Jacobson, Ph.D.
Professor of Forest Resources
Pennsylvania State University
Michal C. Moore, Ph.D. Cantab
Visiting Professor of Economics and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering
Cornell University
Sunkyu Park, Ph.D.
EJ Woody Rice Associate Professor
North Carolina State University
Tim A. Volk, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Sustainable Resources Management
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Jennifer B. Dunn, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering
Northwestern University
Ruth E. Richardson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Cornell University
Evelyn Thomchick, Ph.D., CTL
Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management
Pennsylvania State University
Perrine Pepiot, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering
Cornell University
Farzad Taheripour, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics
Purdue University
James H. Williams, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Energy Systems Management
University of San Francisco
Mark Mba Wright, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Education Energy Systems Engineering
Iowa State University
Ajay Shah, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Program for Bioproducts and the Environment (PROBE)
Ohio State University
Jesse Q. Bond, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering
Syracuse University
Yi Wang, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biosystems Engineering
Auburn University
Benjamin D. Ballard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Renewable Energy
SUNY Morrisville College of Agriculture and Technology
Elaine Oneil, Ph.D.
Director of Science and Sustainability
CORRIM – The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials Affiliate Associate Professor, University of Washington
Marie-Odile Fortier, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of California, Merced
Jillian L. Goldfarb, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering
Cornell University
Deepak Kumar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Obste Therasme, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sustainable Energy Resources
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Matthew H. Langholtz, Ph.D.
Natural Resource Economist, Environmental Sciences Division
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Daniel L. Sanchez, Ph.D.
Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist
University of California-Berkeley
Samarthya Bhagia, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Colin Murphy, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy
University of California, Davis
Steffen Mueller, Ph.D.
Principal Economist, Energy Resources Center
The University of Illinois at Chicago
Vann Bush, M.S.
Vice President, Technology Development & Commercialization
GTI
Kathleen Draper, M.S.
Board Chair
International Biochar Initiative
Phil Vos, M.Sc.
Program Director EnergyVision
Sarah E. Baker, Ph.D.,
Materials Chemistry,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006
* See, e.g., CARB (2021) “LCFS Pathway Certified Carbon Intensities.” Available on the Web at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/lcfs-pathway-certified-carbon-intensities.
† Corresponding signatory