Clinton Camp Pushes Back Against Reuters Article on RFS

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Discussions on how to potentially alter the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates and shift to a market-oriented approach have taken place between the Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), according to a report from Reuters. But it didn’t take long for the Clinton campaign group to backtrack.

Reuters later quoted a campaign official who cast the discussions in perhaps a different light. A campaign spokesman, Tyrone Gayle, said the campaign has been seeking advice from “a diverse set of stakeholders.” He added that the Clinton campaign “does not support replacing the RFS with a national low-carbon fuel standard” but did not elaborate.

The discussions between the Clinton campaign advisers and CARB were confirmed to Reuters by Mary Nichols, head of the California agency. The discussions centered on whether a policy like the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a market-based system rather than a mandate, could replace or augment the RFS at the national level. Nichols told the news service she suggested they could avoid political backlash by focusing on other carbon-reduction strategies instead, such as expanding electric vehicle sales and cleaning up emissions from coal-fired electricity.

Further, Reuters said an unnamed Clinton campaign official also confirmed the CARB discussions, saying they have been seeking advice from “a diverse set of stakeholders.”

Heather Zichal, a former Obama administration climate and energy adviser, said at the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that the RFS was broken, but a Clinton administration could make “modifications” to the program.

Before the Clinton campaign push back, some observers said this could be seen as a potential departure by Clinton on ethanol policy as she said in a May op-ed item in the Iowa Gazette that there was a need to get the RFS “back on track in a way that provides investors with the certainty they need, protects consumers, improves access to E15, E85, (ethanol blends) and biodiesel blends, and effectively drives the development of cellulosic and other advanced biofuels.”

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said during the GOP primaries he supported the mandates in the RFS.

Reuters also indicated there have also been discussions with both political camps on the RFS involving the corn and ethanol industry and their stance of being in support of the mandates.

Clinton, a spokesman told The Hill, is just educating herself on the issue, not advocating a policy change.

Comments: What the initial Reuters report did not reflect at all is that there is not much a president could do to alter the RFS. Any revamp would require legislation. And, moving such legislation in the past has faltered. But you never read that in a lot of wire service reporting. Why? Then it would be a no-news news item, which the original Reuters report was. Just be ready for a lot more of those from the general media, which is generally wrong.

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.