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

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

A report by Chatham House, external states the growing reliance on sustainable liquid fuels will likewise increase food costs.

The author states that biodiesel made from grease was even worse for the climate than fossil fuels.

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

Since 2008, the UK has required fuel providers to include a growing proportion of sustainable products into the gas and diesel they provide. These biofuels are generally ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, utilized cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research study performed for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level indicates that UK vehicle drivers will have to pay an additional ₤ 460m a year because of the higher expense of fuel at the pump and from filling up more frequently as biofuels have a lower energy material.

The report say that if the UK is to meet its obligations to EU energy targets the expense to vehicle drivers is likely to increase to ₤ 1.3 bn per annum by 2020.

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

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

The EU biofuel mandates are likewise having extremely distorting effects in the marketplace. Because used cooking oil is concerned as among the most sustainable types of biodiesel, the cost for it has actually increased quickly. Rob Bailey states that towards completion of 2012 it was more costly than refined palm oil.

"It develops a financial incentive to purchase refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into utilized cooking oil and after that sell it at revenue,"

"It is insane but the rewards exist."

There are also worries that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in particular is producing more environment problems than it fixes. The more fuel of this type that is taken into cars the larger the deficit developed in the edible oils market. This had actually resulted in 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 utilizing diesel in the very first place," said Rob Bailey.

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

Biofuel benefits

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

"Blaming biofuels for all the problems on the planet is a bit too exaggerated," stated Isabelle Maurizi, project manager at the EBB.

"It has brought lots of advantages. It has actually improved the security of our diesel; it has actually minimized 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 strikes the 5% of liquid fuels mark, the government faces some tough decisions on how to move forward on this issue as it deals with tripling the costs for vehicle drivers by 2020.

Insiders suggest its preference would be to try and get arrangement in Brussels on the impacts of indirect expenses which might constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting contract from countries with effective farming sectors who take advantage of the current arrangement will be difficult.

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

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