Biennial Conference of the Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL) 2022: Resource Development at a Crossroads

Panel Overview

It is now technologically possible to produce alternative fuels (renewable natural gas, hydrogen, synthetic fuel, and refined fuels such as renewable jet fuel) from non-fossil sources such as municipal waste and biomass and improved processes such as hydrolysis. These are recognized bridge fuels on the global energy transition to a lower-carbon energy system. But the alternative fuels’ low carbon analysis often is based on a life cycle comparison rather than a point of use emissions analysis. The processes that create alternative fuels may both address other problems (e.g., reuse of solid and bio waste and reductions in methane emissions) and create new challenges (e.g., energy used in process, disposal of by-products, water use, capital costs for building new facilities and encouraging continued dependence on high carbon energy sources). Panelists will discuss recent developments in alternative fuel regulations and deployments in their jurisdictions, how alternative fuels are viewed under ESG metrics and how alternative fuels may fit into an overall carbon education strategy. The panel will also consider how the cost-benefit analysis and role in the energy transition for alternative fuels might differ in advanced economies and the rest of the world.