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

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

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

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

The author states that biodiesel made from vegetable oil 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 required fuel suppliers to add a growing proportion of sustainable products into the fuel and diesel they provide. These biofuels are primarily 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 means that UK drivers will have to pay an additional ₤ 460m a year due to the fact that of the higher expense of fuel at the pump and from filling up more often as biofuels have a lower energy content.

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

"It is hard to find any excellent news," Rob Bailey, senior research study fellow at Chatham House, told BBC News.

"Biofuels increase costs and they are an extremely expensive way to lower carbon emissions," he said.

The EU biofuel mandates are likewise having extremely distorting impacts in the market. Because utilized cooking oil is considered one of the most sustainable types of biodiesel, the cost for it has actually risen quickly. Rob Bailey says that towards completion of 2012 it was more costly than refined palm oil.

"It develops a financial incentive to buy refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and then offer it at earnings,"

"It is crazy but the incentives are there."

There are likewise worries that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in particular is developing more climate problems than it solves. The more fuel of this type that is put into automobiles the bigger the deficit produced in the edible oils market. This had lead to increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, typically produced on deforested land.

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

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

Biofuel benefits

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the market, external across the EU, said it understood the issues triggered by the mandate. But it thinks that biofuels have numerous positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the difficulties in the world is a bit too exaggerated," said Isabelle Maurizi, job supervisor at the EBB.

"It has actually brought lots of benefits. It has actually enhanced the security of our diesel; it has reduced 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 deals with some challenging choices on how to move forward on this issue as it deals with tripling the costs for drivers by 2020.

Insiders recommend its choice would be to attempt and get agreement in Brussels on the effects of indirect costs which may constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting arrangement from nations with powerful farming sectors who benefit from the present plan will be difficult.

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

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