GitLab

Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'even worse than fossil fuels'

The UK's "irrational" usage of biofuels will cost drivers around ₤ 460 million over the next 12 months, a think tank states.

A report by Chatham House, external says the growing dependence on sustainable liquid fuels will also increase food prices.

The author says that biodiesel made from veggie oil was worse for the climate than fossil fuels.

Under EU law, external, biofuels are set to make up 5% of the UK's transport fuel from today.

Since 2008, the UK has needed fuel suppliers to include a growing percentage of sustainable products into the petrol and diesel they supply. These biofuels are generally ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, used cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research study performed for Chatham House states that reaching the 5% level implies that UK drivers will have to pay an additional ₤ 460m a year because of the higher expense of fuel at the pump and from filling regularly as biofuels have a lower energy content.

The report state that if the UK is to satisfy its obligations to EU energy targets the cost to vehicle drivers is most likely to rise to ₤ 1.3 bn per annum by 2020.

"It is tough to discover any good news," Rob Bailey, senior research fellow at Chatham House, told BBC News.

"Biofuels increase expenses and they are a very pricey method to lower carbon emissions," he said.

The EU biofuel requireds are also having hugely distorting results in the marketplace. Because utilized cooking oil is considered as among the most sustainable kinds of biodiesel, the price for it has actually risen quickly. Rob Bailey states that towards the end of 2012 it was more pricey than refined palm oil.

"It produces a monetary incentive to buy refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and after that offer it at profit,"

"It is crazy but the incentives exist."

There are likewise worries that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in particular is creating more environment issues than it fixes. The more fuel of this type that is taken into cars and trucks the larger the deficit produced in the edible oils market. This had lead to increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, often produced on deforested land.

"Once you consider these indirect results, biofuels made from vegetable oils really result worldwide in more emissions than you would obtain from using diesel in the first location," stated Rob Bailey.

"Plus you are asking motorists to pay more for the fuel - it makes no sense, it is a totally unreasonable method."

Biofuel advantages

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the market, external throughout the EU, said it was aware of the issues triggered by the mandate. But it thinks that biofuels have many positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the troubles worldwide is a bit too overstated," stated Isabelle Maurizi, job manager at the EBB.

"It has brought great deals of advantages. It has actually improved the security of our diesel; it has actually decreased EU reliance on animal feed imports, thanks to the rapeseed we grow for biodiesel."

"If there was no biodiesel farmers would simply make their land idle - no food, no feed!"

As the UK strikes the 5% of liquid fuels mark, the federal government faces some tough decisions on how to move forward on this issue as it deals with tripling the expenses for drivers by 2020.

Insiders suggest its choice would be to attempt and get arrangement in Brussels on the effects of indirect expenses which might constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting contract from nations with effective farming sectors who gain from the present plan will be hard.

"When you have a lobby that includes the farming sector and the oil sector it is extremely difficult for Governments to make a U-turn," said Rob Bailey.

County begins recycling chip fat

8 December 2010

How does Qantas fly on chip fat? Video, 00:02:00 How does Qantas fly on chip fat?

13 April 2012

crops' footprint

18 October 2012