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

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

The author says that biodiesel made from grease was worse for the environment 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 proportion of sustainable materials into the gas and diesel they supply. These biofuels are mainly ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, utilized cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research performed for Chatham House states that reaching the 5% level suggests that UK motorists will have to pay an additional ₤ 460m a year since of the higher cost of fuel at the pump and from filling up regularly as biofuels have a lower energy content.

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

"It is tough to find any excellent news," Rob Bailey, senior research fellow at Chatham House, told BBC News.

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

The EU biofuel mandates are likewise having hugely distorting effects in the marketplace. Because utilized cooking oil is concerned as one of the most sustainable kinds of biodiesel, the cost for it has actually risen quickly. Rob Bailey says that towards completion of 2012 it was more expensive than refined palm oil.

"It develops 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 insane however the rewards are there."

There are also frets 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 put into cars and trucks the bigger the deficit produced in the edible oils market. This had resulted in increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, typically produced on deforested land.

"Once you take into consideration these indirect results, biofuels made from veggie oils really result worldwide in more emissions than you would obtain from utilizing diesel in the first place," stated Rob Bailey.

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

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 thinks that biofuels have many positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the problems on the planet is a bit too overstated," stated Isabelle Maurizi, project supervisor at the EBB.

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