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

The UK's "illogical" 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 states the growing dependence on sustainable liquid fuels will likewise 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 transport fuel from today.

Since 2008, the UK has required fuel suppliers to include a growing proportion of sustainable materials into the fuel 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 study performed for Chatham House states 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 cost 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 meet its commitments to EU energy targets the expense to is likely to rise to ₤ 1.3 bn per year by 2020.

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

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

The EU biofuel mandates are also having hugely distorting results in the market. Because used cooking oil is considered as among the most sustainable types of biodiesel, the cost for it has actually increased rapidly. Rob Bailey states that towards the end of 2012 it was more pricey than refined palm oil.

"It produces a financial reward to buy refined palm oil, cook a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and after that sell it at revenue,"

"It is insane but the incentives are there."

There are also frets that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in specific is producing more environment issues than it resolves. The more fuel of this type that is taken into cars and trucks the larger the deficit created in the edible oils market. This had lead to increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, often produced on deforested land.

"Once you consider these indirect results, biofuels made from vegetable oils actually result worldwide in more emissions than you would receive from using diesel in the very first location," stated Rob Bailey.

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

Biofuel benefits

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the market, external throughout the EU, stated it was conscious of the issues triggered by the mandate. But it thinks that biofuels have lots of positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the difficulties worldwide is a bit too overstated," said Isabelle Maurizi, task supervisor at the EBB.

"It has brought lots of benefits. It has improved the security of our diesel; it has actually minimized EU dependency 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 challenging decisions on how to move on on this issue as it faces tripling the costs for vehicle drivers by 2020.

Insiders recommend its preference would be to attempt and get contract in Brussels on the impacts of indirect costs which may constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting agreement from countries with powerful agricultural sectors who take advantage of the present plan will be tough.

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

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