Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'Worse than Nonrenewable Fuel Source'

Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'even worse than nonrenewable fuel sources'

The UK's "irrational" usage 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 reliance on sustainable liquid fuels will also increase food prices.

The author states that biodiesel made from veggie oil was even worse for the environment 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 gas and diesel they provide. These biofuels are mainly ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, used cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research carried out for Chatham House states that reaching the 5% level means that UK vehicle drivers will have to pay an extra ₤ 460m a year due to the fact that of the higher cost of fuel at the pump and from filling up more frequently as biofuels have a lower energy content.

The report state that if the UK is to satisfy its obligations to EU energy targets the expense to drivers is most likely to increase to ₤ 1.3 bn per year by 2020.

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

"Biofuels increase costs and they are a very costly method to lower carbon emissions," he stated.

The EU biofuel requireds are likewise having hugely distorting impacts in the marketplace. Because utilized cooking oil is related to as among the most sustainable kinds of biodiesel, the price for it has increased rapidly. Rob Bailey says that towards the end of 2012 it was more expensive than refined palm oil.

"It creates a financial reward to purchase refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and after that offer it at revenue,"

"It is crazy however the incentives are there."

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

"Once you consider these indirect effects, biofuels made from vegetable oils in fact result worldwide in more emissions than you would receive 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 irrational strategy."

Biofuel benefits

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the market, external throughout the EU, said it understood the problems triggered by the required. But it believes that biofuels have numerous positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the troubles in the world is a bit too overstated," said Isabelle Maurizi, project supervisor at the EBB.

"It has actually brought lots of advantages. It has enhanced the security of our diesel; it has minimized EU dependence 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 hits the 5% of liquid fuels mark, the government faces some challenging decisions on how to progress on this concern as it faces tripling the expenses for drivers by 2020.

Insiders suggest its choice would be to attempt and get contract in Brussels on the impacts of indirect costs which may constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting contract from countries with powerful farming sectors who benefit from the existing arrangement will be difficult.

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

County starts recycling chip fat