To advance biofuel policies globally, U.S. Grains Council Manager of Ethanol Policy and Sustainability Linda Schmid traveled to the 29th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP29) held in Baku, Azerbaijan from Nov. 11-22.COP29 is a meeting of 198 countries that signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change with the objective of keeping global temperatures below 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.The Council’s main goal at COP29 was to encourage countries to include bioethanol in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which detail each nation’s plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the Convention.“Bioethanol lowered greenhouse gas emissions by 140 million metric tons between 2005 and 2019 in the U.S. alone; countries can establish and increase bioethanol blend rates to obtain such carbon emission savings at home,” Schmid said.Going forward, USGC will work with bioethanol advocates to highlight the carbon emission reductions possible with bioethanol to countries formulating new NDCs due Feb. 10, 2025. Final NDCs will be delivered at COP30 to be held in Belem, Brazil on Nov. 10-22, 2025.At COP29, Schmid worked with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), an organization dedicated to raising the voice of agriculture in climate negotiations and as a solution to reducing emissions. In three IICA panel discussions, Schmid explained the role of bioethanol in transport decarbonization, toxic pollution reduction and air quality improvement.Schmid participated in an industry roundtable on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) where she urged an enabling regulatory environment that is carbon intensity-based and feedstock neutral. Schmid echoed the International Energy Agency findings that multiple energy pathways are needed to achieve a target below 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack met with agricultural representatives at COP29 and noted that innovative climate solutions are supporting U.S. farmers’ engagement in low-carbon biofuel and SAF markets. Schmid reported U.S. barley, corn and sorghum farmers reinforce U.S. agriculture’s high-quality position in the marketplace every day with climate-smart investments and practices.Learn more about the Council’s work in innovation and sustainability&nbsp;<a href="https://grains.org/news-events/newsroom/#topic=66">here</a>.

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To advance biofuel policies globally, U.S. Grains Council Manager of Ethanol Policy and Sustainability Linda Schmid traveled to the 29th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP29) held in Baku, Azerbaijan from Nov. 11-22.

USGC: Schmid champions biofuels while at COP29 meeting

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