The most recent, comprehensive lifecycle analysis of biodiesel reports that biodiesel reduces GHG emissions by 72% and fossil fuel use by 80%, when compared to petroleum fuels. The analysis and report were a collaboration between Argonne National Laboratory, Purdue University, and USDA.
Argonne’s lifecycle assessment included indirect land use change (ILUC), a modeling method that attempts to quantify the future impact of such predicted land use change. ILUC has been included in analyses by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that independently conclude biodiesel’s GHG advantage exceeds 50 percent reduction over diesel fuel.