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

The UK’s “irrational” usage of biofuels will cost motorists 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 states that biodiesel made from grease 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 needed fuel providers to include a growing percentage of sustainable materials into the fuel and diesel they supply. These biofuels are generally ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, used cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research study carried out for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level indicates that UK drivers will need to pay an additional ₤ 460m a year due to the fact that of the higher cost of fuel at the pump and from filling up more often as biofuels have a lower energy content.

The report say that if the UK is to satisfy its responsibilities to EU energy targets the expense to motorists is likely to increase 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 really pricey way to minimize carbon emissions,” he said.

The EU biofuel requireds are also having hugely distorting impacts in the marketplace. Because used cooking oil is concerned as one of the most sustainable kinds of biodiesel, the cost for it has risen rapidly. Rob Bailey states that towards the end of 2012 it was more expensive than refined palm oil.

"It develops a monetary incentive to buy refined palm oil, cook a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and then sell it at revenue,“

"It is insane but the incentives are there.“

There are also worries that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in specific is creating more climate problems than it fixes. The more fuel of this type that is taken into cars and trucks the bigger the deficit created in the edible oils market. This had actually resulted in increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, often produced on deforested land.

"Once you consider these indirect impacts, biofuels made from veggie oils actually result worldwide in more emissions than you would receive from using diesel in the first location,” said Rob Bailey.

"Plus you are asking motorists to pay more for the fuel - it makes no sense, it is an entirely irrational technique.“

Biofuel benefits

The Board (EBB), which represents the market, external throughout the EU, said it understood the problems triggered by the required. But it believes that biofuels have lots of positives.

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

"It has actually brought lots of advantages. It has improved the security of our diesel