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

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

The UK's "irrational" use of biofuels will cost 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 says that biodiesel made from grease was worse for the environment 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 suppliers to add a growing proportion of sustainable materials 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 carried out for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level suggests that UK motorists will need to pay an extra ₤ 460m a year due to the fact that of the higher expense of fuel at the pump and from filling up regularly as biofuels have a lower energy content.

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

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

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

The EU biofuel mandates are likewise having hugely distorting results in the market. Because used cooking oil is regarded 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 pricey than refined palm oil.

"It produces a monetary incentive to purchase refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and after that sell it at profit,"

"It is insane however the rewards are there."

There are likewise stresses that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in specific is producing more climate problems than it solves. The more fuel of this type that is put into cars and trucks the bigger the deficit created in the edible oils market. This had resulted in increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, frequently produced on deforested land.

"Once you take into consideration these indirect results, biofuels made from vegetable 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 drivers to pay more for the fuel - it makes no sense, it is an entirely unreasonable technique."

Biofuel advantages

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the market, external across the EU, said it knew the issues caused by the required. But it believes that biofuels have many positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the problems on the planet is a bit too overstated," said Isabelle Maurizi, job supervisor at the EBB.

"It has brought lots of benefits. It has actually improved the security of our diesel; it has actually lowered EU reliance 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 federal government deals with some difficult choices on how to progress on this concern as it deals with tripling the costs for motorists by 2020.

Insiders suggest its choice would be to attempt and get arrangement in Brussels on the effects of indirect expenses which might constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting agreement from nations with powerful agricultural sectors who gain from the present arrangement will be difficult.

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