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

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

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

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 transport fuel from today.

Since 2008, the UK has actually required fuel providers to include a growing proportion of sustainable products into the gas and diesel they provide. These biofuels are mainly ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, utilized cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

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

The report say that if the UK is to meet 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 discover any great news," Rob Bailey, senior research study fellow at Chatham House, told BBC News.

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

The EU biofuel mandates are likewise having extremely distorting results in the market. Because used cooking oil is concerned as one of 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 pricey than refined palm oil.

"It creates a monetary incentive to purchase refined palm oil, cook a chip in it to turn it into utilized cooking oil and then sell it at profit,"

"It is crazy however the rewards are there."

There are also worries that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in particular is creating more environment issues than it resolves. The more fuel of this type that is taken into cars and trucks the bigger the deficit developed in the edible oils market. This had actually resulted in increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, often 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 obtain from using diesel in the first location," stated Rob Bailey.

"Plus you are asking vehicle drivers to pay more for the fuel - it makes no sense, it is an entirely illogical method."

Biofuel benefits

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the industry, external throughout the EU, stated it knew the problems caused by the required. But it thinks that biofuels have lots of positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the problems in the world is a bit too overstated," said Isabelle Maurizi, job manager at the EBB.

"It has brought great deals of benefits. It has actually improved the security of our diesel; it has actually reduced EU dependence 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 difficult decisions on how to move forward on this problem as it faces tripling the expenses for motorists by 2020.

Insiders recommend its preference would be to try and get agreement in Brussels on the effects of indirect expenses which might constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting arrangement from countries with powerful agricultural sectors who take advantage of the present arrangement will be difficult.

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

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