Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'Worse than Fossil Fuels'

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

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

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

The author states that biodiesel made from grease was even worse for the climate than nonrenewable fuel sources.

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 add a growing proportion of sustainable products into the fuel and diesel they provide. These biofuels are mainly ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, utilized cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research study performed for Chatham House states that reaching the 5% level suggests that UK vehicle drivers will have to pay an extra ₤ 460m a year since of the greater cost of fuel at the pump and from filling more typically as biofuels have a lower energy content.

The report say that if the UK is to fulfill its responsibilities to EU energy targets the expense to motorists is most likely to increase to ₤ 1.3 bn per year by 2020.

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

"Biofuels increase costs and they are a really costly way to decrease carbon emissions," he said.

The EU biofuel requireds are likewise having hugely distorting impacts in the market. Because utilized cooking oil is considered as one of the most sustainable types of biodiesel, the rate for it has risen quickly. Rob Bailey says that towards the end of 2012 it was more pricey than refined palm oil.

"It creates a monetary reward to purchase refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and after that sell it at earnings,"

"It is insane but the incentives exist."

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

"Once you take into account these indirect effects, biofuels made from veggie oils really result worldwide in more emissions than you would get from using diesel in the very first place," said Rob Bailey.

"Plus you are asking vehicle drivers to pay more for the fuel - it makes no sense, it is a completely unreasonable strategy."

Biofuel advantages

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the industry, external across the EU, stated it knew the issues brought on by the required. But it thinks that biofuels have lots of positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the problems in the world is a bit too overstated," stated Isabelle Maurizi, task supervisor at the EBB.

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

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

As the UK hits the 5% of liquid fuels mark, the federal government faces some tough decisions on how to progress on this concern as it deals with tripling the costs for vehicle drivers by 2020.

Insiders recommend its preference would be to try and get arrangement in Brussels on the effects of indirect costs which might constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting contract from countries with powerful agricultural sectors who gain from the current arrangement will be hard.

"When you have a lobby which includes the agricultural sector and the oil sector it is very hard for Governments to make a U-turn," stated Rob Bailey.