Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'worse than fossil fuels'
The UK's "unreasonable" usage of biofuels will cost vehicle 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 also increase food costs.
The author states that biodiesel made from vegetable oil was 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 needed fuel suppliers to add a growing proportion of sustainable products into the gas and diesel they supply. These biofuels are mainly ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, used cooking oil and tallow.
Deep fried fuel
But research study performed for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level indicates that UK motorists will need to pay an additional ₤ 460m a year due to the fact that of the greater cost of fuel at the pump and from filling up regularly as biofuels have a lower energy content.
The report state that if the UK is to fulfill its obligations to EU energy targets the cost to drivers is likely to increase to ₤ 1.3 bn per year by 2020.
"It is hard to discover any good news," Rob Bailey, senior research fellow at Chatham House, told BBC News.
"Biofuels increase costs and they are an extremely pricey method to decrease carbon emissions," he stated.
The EU biofuel mandates are also having hugely distorting impacts in the market. Because utilized cooking oil is considered as among the most sustainable kinds of biodiesel, the rate for it has increased rapidly. Rob Bailey says that towards the end of 2012 it was more expensive than refined palm oil.
"It develops a monetary reward to buy refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and then offer it at profit,"
"It is insane however the incentives are there."
There are also worries that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in specific is developing more climate issues than it resolves. The more fuel of this type that is put into vehicles the bigger the deficit developed in the edible oils market. This had resulted in increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, frequently produced on deforested land.
"Once you consider these indirect impacts, biofuels made from vegetable oils actually result worldwide in more emissions than you would get from using diesel in the 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 advantages
The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the industry, external throughout the EU, said it understood the problems brought on by the required. But it believes that biofuels have lots of positives.
"Blaming biofuels for all the difficulties in the world is a bit too overstated," said Isabelle Maurizi, job supervisor at the EBB.
"It has brought lots of benefits. It has improved the security of our diesel; it has actually reduced 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 hits the 5% of liquid fuels mark, the federal government deals with some hard decisions on how to move forward on this issue as it faces tripling the costs for motorists by 2020.
Insiders recommend 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 agreement from nations with powerful agricultural sectors who gain from the current plan will be hard.
"When you have a lobby that includes the agricultural sector and the oil sector it is very difficult for Governments to make a U-turn," stated Rob Bailey.
County begins recycling chip fat
8 December 2010
How does Qantas fly on chip fat? Video, 00:02:00 How does Qantas fly on chip fat?
13 April 2012
Measuring energy crops' footprint
18 October 2012
