(NewsDakota.com/EPA) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to increase biofuel blending mandates through 2025 would lead to a near-term increase in greenhouse gas emissions, before yielding reductions in the longer-term, according to agency documents.

According to Reuters, the agency unveiled a proposal that would lift the volumes mandates over the next three years from 20.82 billion gallons in 2023 to 22.68 billion gallons in 2025 – including more than 15 billion gallons annually of convention biofuels like corn-based ethanol.

That proposal would boost greenhouse gas emissions over the three-year term by between 81 million and 265.9 million metric tons as new tilling for corn, soy and other plantings releases carbon from the soil, according to the EPA’s internal analysis of the proposal, reviewed by Reuters.