12 September - 14 September 2022
In-person: Monterey, California, US & Online Access

Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS & Carbon Markets Summit

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Agenda 

The 3-day agenda at the 2022 Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS & Carbon Markets Summit consists of:

  • Day 1 - Argus RINs, RFS, and LCFS Workshop, a primer on regulatory framework developments and market drivers, runs alongside Main Conference Day 1: Carbon Markets and Regulation in North America

  • Day 2 - Main Conference Day 2: Biofuels — LCFS Program Developments

  • Day 3 - Main Conference Day 3: Biofuels — SAF and Feedstocks and the post-conference Best Practices in Fuel Buying Workshop that details seven steps you can take to achieve best practices in fuel buying and selling downstream
  • 09:00
  • -
  • 16:00
  • Argus RINs, RFS, and LCFS Workshop
A primer on regulatory framework developments and market drivers
Understanding the RFS and LCFS markets and regulatory landscape is critical to industries including refining, biofuels, natural gas, utilities, environmental, energy management, transportation & logistics, agriculture, engineering and beyond.
• Introduction to the regulatory framework of the RFS and CA LCFS program and the road ahead.
• A review of US renewables/biofuels market, the challenges and opportunities for ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel and renewable natural gas.
• Price drivers of RINs and LCFS credits
  • 17:00
  • -
  • 18:30
  • Reception

Regulatory updates - Carbon Markets

Start End
  • 08:00
  • -
  • 09:00
  • Registration and breakfast
  • 09:00
  • -
  • 09:05
  • Conference welcome     Belle Andrews, Conference Producer, Argus 
  • 09:05
  • -
  • 09:10
  • Chairperson’s opening remarks   Jessica Dell, Editorial Manager — Environmental Markets, Argus
  • 09:10
  • -
  • 09:45
  • Keynote address: The future of the California carbon market Rajinder Sahota - Deputy Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board
Hear directly from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on the latest regulatory developments for 2022 and beyond.  
• What progress has California made towards reducing emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030?  
• Short lived climate pollutants need to be reduced in California — what steps is CARB taking to address this?  
• Outlook for the California cap and trade programme as seen in the scoping plan.  
 

Moderator: 

Jessica Dell, Editorial Manager — Environmental Markets, Argus 

  • 09:45
  • -
  • 10:20
  • Outside of California: Updates and progression in Washington and Oregon Washington Department of Ecology, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Puget Sound Energy (PSE)
• What are some of the legislative and legal challenges that each state faced in their respective fights for these programmes?  
• How is the Oregon cap and trade program planning to operate trading wise? 
• Washington’s programme will cover about 75% of the state's total emissions, with the remaining 25% being allowed to opt in. How does the state plan to incentivise this?  
• How might Washington, Canada and Oregon state programmes overlap or align with California? Is harmony between these states feasible? Is it being considered when mapping out the future?  
• What can North America’s carbon markets  learn from other markets, including the EU emissions trading scheme? How have speculators impacted pricing in these markets over the past year? 
 

Speakers:

Luke Martland, Climate Commitment Act Implementation Manager, Washington Department of Ecology 

Nicole Singh, Senior Climate Policy Advisor, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 

Lorna Luebbe, Assistant General Counsel/Director Environmental, Puget Sound Energy (PSE)

Moderator: 

Michael Ball, Editor — Air Daily, Argus

  • 10:20
  • -
  • 10:45
  • Argus presents: North American carbon markets Michael Ball - Editor — Air Daily, Argus
• What have we seen across carbon markets in the past year?  
• What new programs are in the works and how might their markets evolve?  
• Updates on the federal level programs pertaining to carbon reduction goals. How is the Biden administration planning to reduce carbon emissions on a federal level by 2030 and how could market based measures be incorporated? 
• Overview of carbon credits and trading trends
 

Moderator: 

Jessica Dell, Editorial Manager — Environmental Markets, Argus
  • 10:45
  • -
  • 11:40
  • Coffee and networking break
  • 11:40
  • -
  • 12:30
  • Voluntary Carbon Markets: Insights into an opaque market

• How has liquidity in the voluntary carbon market shifted and what groups are we likely to see participating more? How have corporate net-zero targets impacted VCO demand?  
• What benefits can companies capitalize on by operating in an ‘unregulated’ space? On the flipside what are some of the consequences?  
• What types of companies are leading the way in the voluntary space and what types of VCOs are they investing in? 
• What legal and reputational risks are involved? Why is there some skepticism surrounding VCOs? 
 

Speakers:

Peter Weisberg, Director, New Product Development, Carbon Markets, 3Degrees  

Jessica Masters, Director of Environment Energy Products, CME Group 
 
Jennifer McIsaac, Director, Market Analysis, Clearblue Markets

Moderator: 

Matthew Oatway, SVP North America, Argus 

  • 12:30
  • -
  • 13:40
  • Lunch break
  • 13:40
  • -
  • 14:30
  • Developing standards for voluntary markets: Ensuring integrity of credits and their use Gold Standard, VERRA, Baker Botts LLP, CBL Markets
The voluntary carbon market is constantly evolving and growing, this session aims to illustrate how standardization on organizations are tackling issues of regulation and accountability.   
  • How do crediting programs set standards and how are they evolving?
  • How can we ensure environmental integrity as the market continues to scale?
  • What are international initiatives to watch in the voluntary space and what is their role?
  • How will credit quality be judged and how can we make sense of claims that buying corporates make?
  • What are prospects for oversight from the SEC and CFTC and how could that affect the market? 
 
Speakers:

Hugh Salway, Head of Environmental Markets, Gold Standard [virtual]

Andrew Howard, Senior Director, Climate Policy and Strategy, VERRA [virtual]

Emily Mott, Senior Associate, Baker Botts LLP  

Russell Karas, Head of Carbon Market Development, CBL Markets  

Moderator: 

Katie Sullivan, Global Managing Director, IETA  

 
 

  • 14:30
  • -
  • 15:10
  • Compliance versus voluntary: Is a global carbon market feasible? Bloomberg NEF, Eco Engineers, ClimeCo
• Though voluntary and compliance markets operate in entirely separate spheres, is there any space for collaboration? Are there stakeholders who are interested in or working towards this overlap?  
• Is there a chance for future harmony and collaboration between Europe and the Americas?  
• Is a global carbon market the long-term goal? Should it be or will these markets remain regional in nature?  
 

Speakers:

Bo Qin, Lead Analyst European Carbon Market, Bloomberg NEF 

Roxby Hartley, Climate Risk Director, Eco Engineers 

Derek Six, Chief Operating Officer, ClimeCo 

Moderator: 

Michael Ball, Editor — Air Daily, Argus

  • 15:10
  • -
  • 15:40
  • Coffee break

 
  • 15:40
  • -
  • 16:25
  • Decarbonisation technology in North America — carbon capture projects and progress
• Mini presentation on the most promising carbon capture projects in North America today. Where are they on the marketability of their product?  
• What are the benefits and consequences of acknowledging or accrediting CCS versus CCU? Who gets the credit after the carbon has travelled through the supply chain?  
• Is carbon capture the future of decarbonisation? If so, what needs to happen at a regulatory level to support this?  
 

Speakers:

Tom Dower, VP of Public Policy, Lanza Tech [virtual]  

Anthony Cottone, VP of Carbon Products and Marketing, 1PointFive 

JP Brisson, Partner, Latham and Watkins

Moderator: 

Clay Munnings, IETA 

  • 16:25
  • -
  • 16:30
  • Closing remarks
  • 16:30
  • -
  • 18:30
  • Reception

Regulatory updates - LCFS

Start End
  • 08:00
  • -
  • 09:00
  • Registration and breakfast
  • 09:00
  • -
  • 09:05
  • Conference Welcome Matthew Oatway - SVP North America, Argus
  • 09:05
  • -
  • 09:10
  • Host Sponsor Welcome Mark Hughes - Public Affairs Manager, Neste
  • 09:10
  • -
  • 09:15
  • Chairperson’s opening remarks   Jessica Dell - Editorial Manager — Environmental Markets, Argus
  • 09:15
  • -
  • 10:00
  • Keynote address: The future of the California LCFS program Richard Corey - Former Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board
  • Updates and 2023 outlook on the California LCFS program
  • What were some key findings from the Verification Statements for Fuel Pathway Reports, Quarterly Fuel Transactions Reports, and Quarterly and Annual Crude Oil Reports?
  • What must California do to meet its 2030 emissions targets in terms of the LCFs?
  • Reflecting on your time at CARB, what are some triumphs and lessons learned over the past few years? What is your hope for CARB’s future? 

Moderator: 

Jessica Dell, Editorial Manager — Environmental Markets, Argus 

New clean fuel standards in North America

Start End
  • 10:00
  • -
  • 11:00
  • LCFS program developments and updates: Washington, Oregon, California, and BC Washington Department of Ecology, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, California Air Resources Board, British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation
• What must happen over the next five years to ensure California meets its EV infrastructure and adoption goals? What are CARB’s top considerations for appropriate LCFS and general carbon targets? 
• What role will renewable natural gas (RNG) play in the California LCFS programme? How are they incentivising the market so that it is used more in transport fuels?
• Looking to Washington’s LCFS program, what are the most important first steps as the program launches in January? How will this impact biofuels demand along the USWC?
• Why was Oregon able to pursue such an aggressive increase in targets between 2030 and 2035? What might we see next for the program 
• How close is the BC LCFS to achieving its goal of reducing five million tonnes of greenhouse emissions? 
 
Speakers:

Joel Creswell, Climate Policy Section Manager, Washington Department of Ecology 

Cory Ann Wind, Oregon Clean Fuels Program Manager, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 

Rajinder Sahota, Deputy Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board

Michael Rensing, Executive Director, Low Carbon Fuels Branch, British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation 

Moderator: 

Elliott Blackburn, Senior Reporter, Argus   

  • 11:00
  • -
  • 11:50
  • Women in Biofuels Tea and Networking Break
 
  • 11:50
  • -
  • 12:30
  • The shift to renewable diesel—what impacts will this have on the market? - Neste US, Phillips 66, Crimson Renewable
  • How much biodiesel v. renewable are we seeing in today’s market? 
  • What are the key markets for biodiesel over the next five years? For RD (renewable diesel)? 
  • Will biodiesel still play a key role in the decarbonization of the transportation sector, despite this shift?  

Speakers:    

Nik Weinberg-Lynn, Manager, Renewable Energy Projects, Phillips 66 

Carrie Song, VP Renewable Road Transportation, Neste US 

Harry Simpson, CEO, Crimson Renewable Energy 

Moderator: 

Louise Burke, VP Business Development, Argus    

 

  • 12:30
  • -
  • 14:00
  • Lunch Break
 
  • 14:00
  • -
  • 14:30
  • A federal carbon and LCFS program in Canada? Possibilities, challenges and delays Lauren Clarke - Manager / Environmental Protection Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada , Government of Canada [virtual]
  • From an industry perspective, what effects might the market experience because of this prolonged delay? 
  • Is the country still on track to meet the 13% emission reduction goal by 2030? 
  • How will this federal program open up opportunities for new trade flows in Canada?  


Moderator: 

Elliott Blackburn, Senior Reporter, Argus 

  • 14:30
  • -
  • 15:15
  • A question of expansion: why aren’t LCFS programs spreading east? New York League of Conservation Voters, Great Plains Institute, ENV
• Why are environmental justice and other green groups against LCFS?
• What are the major obstacles to other markets adopting LCFS?
• For example, New York has yet another opportunity for the State Assembly and Senate to include a clean fuels standard yet the legislation has not crossed the finish line. How close are we to a LCFS in New York? What are its future prospects?
 

Speakers:

Julie Tighe, President, NEW YORK LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS  [virtual]

Brendan Jordan, Vice President Transportation and Fuels, Great Plains Institute [virtual]

Claudia Borchert, Climate Change Policy Coordinator, ENV 

Moderator: 

Michael Ball, Editor — Air Daily, Argus

  • 15:15
  • -
  • 15:45
  •  Coffee and networking break
  
  • 15:45
  • -
  • 16:30
  • Looking to the future: Can and will EVs displace the biofuels market?
• What have we seen over the past few years with EVs? What impact has the pandemic had?
• EVs have not penetrated the larger freight transport vehicle market, what can we expect to change here?  
• How has policy helped or hindered the progression of EVs? What is needed to continue to incentivise growth in the EV market? 
• Many automakers have committed to a large scale-if not total- shift to EV production. What is the future of internal combustion?
• How will growing EV use impact LCFS pricing?
 

Speakers:

Shereen D'Souza, Deputy Secretary for Climate Policy and Intergovernmental Relations, California EPA 

Jon Costantino,Founding Principal , Tradesman Advisors

Harrison Clay, Head of Biogas, Mercuria Energy Group Holding SA 

Moderator: 

Stephen Jones, SVP, Oil Markets Strategist, Argus 

  • 16:30
  • -
  • 16:35
  • Closing remarks  
  • 16:40
  • -
  • 18:30
  • Evening drinks reception

The North American Renewable Fuels Market Today

Start End
  • 08:00
  • -
  • 09:00
  • Registration and breakfast
  • 09:00
  • -
  • 09:05
  • Chairperson’s opening remarks   Mathew Oatway - SVP North America, Argus
  • 09:05
  • -
  • 09:40
  • Keynote Address: a refiner’s perspective on investment in renewable fuels Marathon Petroleum
• From the perspective of a refinery, does investing in renewable diesel ensure more financial and environmental success?  
• How do you see the biofuel market evolving over the next 10-15 years? 
• What is your refinery doing to prepare for the push for increased biofuels usage?  
 

Speaker:

Brian McDonald, Regulatory Affairs Advisor, Marathon Petroleum  

Moderator: 

Matthew Oatway, SVP North America, Argus 

 

  • 09:40
  • -
  • 10:40
  • The future of SAF in North America: incentives for growth and next steps Neste, Gevo, Southwest Airlines
• To what extent will SAF replace conventional jet fuel? 
• How can this commodity become more efficient and mainstream? 
• Though SAF is a promising alternative, there are many hurdles in getting it from the producer to the end-user, what are these obstacles and how has the market overcome them so far?
• SAF has to be mixed with JET A and also stored in different tanks during the mixing process, is there a way to circumvent this aspect of the supply chain? 
• Is there EV technology or alternative renewable fuels in place in the aviation sector that could eventually displace the SAF market? 
• Airlines are looking at both SAF and carbon offsets to meet CORSIA obligations. How are they weighing these options?
 
Speakers:

Chris Cooper, President of Neste US, Neste [virtual]

Tim Cesarek, Chief Commercial Officer, Gevo [virtual] 

Helen Giles, Director Environmental Sustainability, Southwest Airlines [virtual] 

Moderator:  

Louise Burke, VP Business Development, Argus

  • 10:40
  • -
  • 11:10
  • Coffee and networking break

 
  • 11:10
  • -
  • 11:40
  • Federal versus state: regulatory updates on the renewable fuel standard (RFS) programme EPA, Advanced Biofuels Association
  • An overview of this year's RINs market and credit trading trends  
  • What’s next in terms of amendments to the RFS?  
  • How is the Biden administration supporting the RFS programme and what are their future?  
  • In 2019 the Trump administration pushed to extend the blender tax credit to 2022 in a bid to keep biodiesel producers afloat, what will be the future of this tax credit as we move into 2023? 

 

Speakers:  

Paul Machiele, Fuel Programs Center Director, EPA 

Moderator: 

Elliot Blackburn, Senior Reporter, Argus 
  

Feedstocks, Ethanol and RNG

Start End
  • 11:40
  • -
  • 12:20
  • What does the future hold for RNG in North America? RNG Coalition, First Environment
  • As a vehicle fuel, RNG has the capacity to be both carbon neutral and in some cases carbon negative. If this is the case, why hasn’t RNG taken over the biofuels market? Is this a feedstock or scalability issue?  
  • An update on feedstock technology being developed for RNG. Where are these projects located? Where are they on the marketability of their technology?  
  • There has been a lot of movement in the LCFS arena across North America — what impact could these policy reforms have on RNG? How are LCFS markets incentivising the use of RNG and waste feedstocks? 
  • Can municipal waste be used as an alternative for most, if not all, biofuels and RNG? 
 
Speakers: 

Sam Wade, Director of State Regulatory Affairs, RNG Coalition 

Ernie Pollitzer, Senior Engineer, First Environment  

Moderator: 

Jessica Dell, Editorial manager, Environmental Markets, Argus
 
  • 12:20
  • -
  • 12:55
  • What role will ethanol play in terms of carbon reduction technologies?
  • How has ethanol been utilised for SAF production? What role does it play in helping — or further hindering — the SAF supply chain?  
  • What role could ethanol play in carbon capture and sequestration?  
  • Will ethanol remain a key product in the biofuels and sustainability arena in North America, despite all the technological developments with RNG and EVs?  
Speakers:

Janie Kilgore, Associate Counsel, POET

Dave Rubenstein, CEO, California Ethanol + Power

Moderator: 

Stephen Jones, SVP, Oil Markets Strategist, Argus 

  • 12:55
  • -
  • 13:30
  • Feedstocks of the future: Availability, scalability and technological developments
  • Will there be enough feedstock to support rapid growth and accelerating demand for biofuels and alternative fuels? What role will second generation feedstocks play.  
  • From an industry perspective, how do you plan to scale up feedstock production to keep up with the goals set out in the various LCFS programmes and demand markets?  
  • Food versus fuel — how do we ensure that food supply is not impacted by feedstocks?  
  • Overview of technological developments for feedstocks.
 
Speakers:

Harrison Pettit, Chief Development Officer, Pacific Ag 

Ezra Finkin, Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs & Development, REG

Moderator: 

Louise Burke, VP Business Development, Argus

  • 13:30
  • -
  • 13:35
  • Closing remarks
  • 13:35
  • -
  • 14:00
  • Grab and go lunch
  • 14:00
  • -
  • 16:30
  • Fuel buyers workshop – seven steps to getting your physical fuel buying program up to date Scott Berhang - VP Business Development, Argus
Are you up to speed on the seismic changes that are happening in the downstream world of fuel sales? Pricing at the rack has become more complicated than ever – it’s not just fuel price volatility. It’s understanding formula pricing at the rack, and understanding the subtleties in indexes, or benchmarks for downstream fuel deals. 

At “Fuel Buyers Workshop,” Scott Berhang – who has taught physical fuel buying to the downstream’s leading suppliers and end users for 30 years  – will detail seven steps that you can take to achieve best practices in fuel buying and selling downstream. That includes understanding the mechanics of wholesale pricing – from futures to spot to rack to retail – and how the smartest buyers and sellers are using hourly price discovery to time purchases, and “beat the rack price.”

If your company does anything with fuel in the downstream space, this is a breakout session you should not miss.