Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'even 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 reliance on sustainable liquid fuels will likewise increase food rates.

The author says 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 transport fuel from today.

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

Deep fried fuel

But research carried out for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level implies 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 up more frequently as biofuels have a lower energy content.

The report say that if the UK is to fulfill its responsibilities to EU energy targets the cost to drivers is likely to rise to ₤ 1.3 bn per annum by 2020.

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

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

The EU biofuel requireds are also having hugely distorting impacts in the market. Because used cooking oil is concerned as among the most sustainable kinds of biodiesel, the price for it has actually increased rapidly. Rob Bailey states that towards the end of 2012 it was more costly than refined palm oil.

"It produces a financial reward to buy refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into utilized cooking oil and after that sell it at earnings,"

"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 developing more climate issues than it fixes. 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 caused increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, frequently 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 utilizing diesel in the first location," said Rob Bailey.

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

Biofuel benefits

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

"Blaming biofuels for all the difficulties in the world is a bit too exaggerated," said Isabelle Maurizi, job supervisor at the EBB.

"It has actually brought lots of advantages. It has improved the security of our diesel; it has decreased 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 deals with some tough decisions on how to progress on this issue as it faces tripling the expenses for vehicle drivers by 2020.

Insiders recommend its preference would be to attempt and get agreement in Brussels on the impacts of indirect costs which may constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting contract from nations with powerful farming sectors who gain from the current arrangement will be challenging.

"When you have a lobby that includes the agricultural sector and the oil sector it is really difficult for Governments to make a U-turn," stated Rob Bailey.

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