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

The UK's "unreasonable" use 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 grease was worse for the environment than nonrenewable fuel sources.

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

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

Deep fried fuel

But research performed for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level means that UK vehicle drivers will need to pay an extra ₤ 460m a year since of the greater expense of fuel at the pump and from filling more often as biofuels have a lower energy material.

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

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

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

The EU biofuel requireds are also having extremely distorting results in the market. Because used cooking oil is considered one of the most sustainable types of biodiesel, the rate for it has increased quickly. Rob Bailey says that towards completion of 2012 it was more expensive than refined palm oil.

"It produces a monetary reward to buy refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into utilized cooking oil and then sell it at revenue,"

"It is insane however the incentives exist."

There are also frets that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in specific is developing more environment issues than it resolves. The more fuel of this type that is taken into automobiles the bigger the deficit developed in the edible oils market. This had actually resulted in increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, frequently produced on deforested land.

"Once you consider these indirect results, biofuels made from veggie oils really result worldwide in more emissions than you would get from utilizing diesel in the very first location," said Rob Bailey.

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

Biofuel advantages

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

"Blaming biofuels for all the problems on the planet is a bit too overstated," 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 lowered EU dependency 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 progress on this problem as it deals with tripling the costs for motorists by 2020.

Insiders recommend its choice would be to try and get agreement in Brussels on the impacts of indirect costs which may constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting contract from nations with powerful agricultural sectors who benefit from the current plan will be tough.

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

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