The ethanol tra : Why policies to promote ethanol as fuel need rethinking

Most ethanol production in Quebec and Ontario A second possible rationale is the encouragement is corn-based, while the majority of the of rural development through a redistribution production in the Prairies is wheat-based. [...] But the potential to • Estimated national ethanol production is the expand the production of ethanol from wheat and total of each province’s production, based on the corn by-products is limited. [...] Canadian wheat ethanol does have lower net GHG The level of GHG emissions is directly related to emissions than US production of corn, partly due the amount of energy produced from the ethanol to the lower emissions from predominantly and gasoline used, but also depends on the energy hydroelectric power sources used in Canada. [...] Using the cumulative amount of GHG offset and the cumulative subsides It is helpful to compare the effectiveness of given through 2012, it will cost the federal and replacing gasoline with corn ethanol to the amount provincial purses roughly $368 per tonne of CO2 of subsidies given to ethanol producers to reduce equivalent that is offset by ethanol. [...] Thus, when measuring the cost of prices, through the higher cost of inputs for other subsidies versus the environmental benefits, the food production and the higher costs of agricultural federal subsidy is excessive.