The global quest to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 “may very well be the greatest opportunity for growth and value creation in the industry’s history,” Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said today in a keynote speech at the National Ethanol Conference in New Orleans.

“Just as the ethanol industry seized on opportunities to stimulate the rural economy, reduce smog-forming air pollution, and bolster energy security, we now have — right in front of us — another great opportunity to provide a solution to one of the world’s most daunting challenges: reducing carbon emissions and combatting climate change,” Cooper said. “And we cannot afford to miss this opportunity — not just because it will help our industry grow and thrive, but because the very health of the planet is at stake.

“With the right chemistry and technology, ethanol can serve not only as a future low-carbon fuel for jets, ocean liners, trucks, and farm equipment, but also as the fundamental building block for sustainable chemicals and plastics,” Cooper said. “In reality, anything you can do with a barrel of crude oil, we can do with a barrel of renewable ethanol.”

Rather than calling on OPEC to increase production, releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or suspending the federal gasoline tax, Cooper encouraged the Biden administration to move quickly to facilitate the sale of higher ethanol blends like E15.

Cooper also released a study, “Pathways to Net-Zero Ethanol: Scenarios for Ethanol Producers to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050,” and a state of the industry report.