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

The UK's "illogical" use of biofuels will cost motorists 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 likewise increase food costs.

The author states that biodiesel made from grease was even worse for the environment than fossil fuels.

Under EU law, external, biofuels are set to make up 5% of the UK's transportation fuel from today.

Since 2008, the UK has needed fuel suppliers to add a growing percentage of sustainable materials into the fuel 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 study carried out for Chatham House states that reaching the 5% level suggests that UK vehicle drivers will have to pay an extra ₤ 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 material.

The report say that if the UK is to meet its obligations to EU energy targets the expense to motorists is likely to rise to ₤ 1.3 bn per annum by 2020.

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

"Biofuels increase costs and they are an extremely expensive method to decrease carbon emissions," he said.

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

"It creates a financial incentive to buy refined palm oil, cook a chip in it to turn it into utilized cooking oil and then offer it at revenue,"

"It is insane but the rewards are there."

There are likewise stresses that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in particular is developing more climate problems than it resolves. The more fuel of this type that is taken into cars and trucks the bigger the deficit produced in the edible oils market. This had caused increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, often produced on deforested land.

"Once you take into consideration these indirect impacts, biofuels made from veggie oils in fact result worldwide in more emissions than you would get from utilizing diesel in the very 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 market, external throughout the EU, said it knew the problems triggered by the mandate. But it believes that biofuels have lots of positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the troubles on the planet is a bit too exaggerated," said Isabelle Maurizi, task manager at the EBB.

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