Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Ethanol from Iowa Corn: Life Cycle Analysis versus System-Wide Accounting

Life cycle Analysis (LCA) is the standard approach used to evaluate the GreenHouse Gas (GHG) benefits of biofuels. However, it is increasingly recognized that LCA results do not account for some impacts - including land use changes - that have important implications on GHGs. Thus, an alternative accounting system that goes beyond LCA is needed.

In this paper, the authors contribute to the literature by laying out the basics of a System-Wide Accounting (SWA) method that takes into account all potential changes in GHGs resulting from biofuel expansion. They applied both LCA and SWA to assess the GHG impacts of ethanol based on Iowa corn.