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

The UK's "illogical" usage 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 also increase food prices.

The author says that biodiesel made from vegetable oil was worse for the environment than nonrenewable fuel sources.

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

Since 2008, the UK has required fuel providers to add a growing proportion of sustainable materials into the fuel and diesel they provide. These biofuels are generally ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, used cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research study brought out for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level suggests that UK motorists will have to pay an additional ₤ 460m a year due to the fact that of the higher expense 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 fulfill its obligations to EU energy targets the cost to motorists is most likely to rise to ₤ 1.3 bn per year by 2020.

"It is tough 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 mandates are also having extremely distorting effects in the marketplace. Because utilized cooking oil is concerned as one of the most of biodiesel, the rate for it has actually risen quickly. Rob Bailey says that towards completion of 2012 it was more pricey than refined palm oil.

"It produces a monetary incentive to purchase refined palm oil, cook a chip in it to turn it into utilized cooking oil and after that sell it at revenue,"

"It is crazy but the incentives exist."

There are also worries that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in particular is producing more climate issues than it resolves. 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 caused increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, often produced on deforested land.

"Once you take into consideration these indirect impacts, biofuels made from vegetable oils actually result worldwide in more emissions than you would obtain from utilizing diesel in the very first place," stated 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 advantages

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the industry, external across the EU, said it understood the problems brought on by the mandate. But it thinks that biofuels have lots of positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the difficulties on the planet is a bit too overstated," said Isabelle Maurizi, job manager at the EBB.

"It has actually brought lots of advantages. It has enhanced the security of our diesel; it has actually minimized EU dependence 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 hits the 5% of liquid fuels mark, the federal government faces some hard decisions on how to move forward on this concern as it deals with tripling the expenses for motorists by 2020.

Insiders recommend its choice would be to try and get arrangement in Brussels on the impacts of indirect expenses which might constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting agreement from nations with powerful farming sectors who gain from the present arrangement will be tough.

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

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