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

The UK's "unreasonable" 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 dependence on sustainable liquid fuels will also increase food costs.

The author says that biodiesel made from veggie oil was even worse for the climate than nonrenewable fuel sources.

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

Since 2008, the UK has required fuel providers to include a growing percentage of sustainable products into the gas and diesel they supply. These biofuels are primarily ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, used cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research performed for Chatham House states that reaching the 5% level indicates that UK drivers will need to pay an extra ₤ 460m a year due to the fact that of the greater cost of fuel at the pump and from filling more frequently as biofuels have a lower energy content.

The report state that if the UK is to meet its responsibilities to EU energy targets the cost to vehicle drivers is likely to increase to ₤ 1.3 bn per annum by 2020.

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

"Biofuels increase costs and they are a very pricey way to decrease carbon emissions," he said.

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

"It develops a monetary reward to purchase refined palm oil, cook a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and after that offer it at earnings,"

"It is crazy but the incentives exist."

There are also frets that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in specific is developing more environment problems than it resolves. The more fuel of this type that is put into vehicles the bigger the deficit produced in the edible oils market. This had resulted in 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 obtain from utilizing diesel in the first location," said Rob Bailey.

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

Biofuel benefits

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the industry, 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 difficulties on the planet is a bit too exaggerated," stated Isabelle Maurizi, task supervisor at the EBB.

"It has actually brought great deals of advantages. It has enhanced the security of our diesel; it has actually decreased EU reliance on animal feed imports, thanks to the rapeseed we grow for biodiesel."

"If there was no biodiesel farmers would simply 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 choices on how to move on on this concern as it deals with tripling the costs for motorists by 2020.

Insiders suggest its preference would be to attempt and get agreement in Brussels on the effects of indirect expenses which may constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting arrangement from countries with effective agricultural sectors who gain from the existing plan will be hard.

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

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