Low Carbon Fuel Standard (California)

Beyond the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the state of California has its own scheme for promoting the use of low-carbon renewable fuels: the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). Rather than establishing a volumetric target for renewable fuels that must be blended into the fuel pool, the LCFS requires that the average carbon intensity (CI) of the state’s aggregate fuel pool be reduced. The program, in its current form, aims to achieve a 20% CI reduction against the 2010 benchmark CI for fossil fuels; namely gasoline and diesel.

The program in its original form did not, however, contemplate CI reductions for jet fuel, since the state does not have the authority to regulate aviation fuel quality. This prerogative belong