Colin Murphy

Deputy Director of UC Davis’s Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy; co-director of the ITS-Davis Low Carbon Fuel Policy Research Initiative; and assistant director of the UC Davis Energy Futures Research Program. His work focuses on transportation, sustainable-fuel policy, air quality, carbon markets, and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Maritime Biofuel Rules Must Balance Bankable Demand and Lifecycle Risk

Maritime decarbonization will depend less on choosing a single replacement fuel than on whether global rules can create bankable demand while distinguishing genuinely lower-carbon supply chains from those that shift emissions elsewhere, the speakers argue. Rod Snyder said shipping is headed toward a multi-fuel future, with U.S. ethanol, woody biomass and e-fuels all seeking a role. But Jennifer Aurandt-Pilgrim’s call to credit documented farm and plant improvements clashes with UC Davis researcher Colin Murphy’s warning that lifecycle standards must also account for indirect land-use change and other market effects beyond a producer’s gate.

The Aspen InstituteJul 29, 202612 min read