Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'worse than nonrenewable fuel sources'
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 dependence on sustainable liquid fuels will also increase food costs.
The author states that biodiesel made from veggie oil was even worse for the environment than fossil fuels.
Under EU law, external, biofuels are set to comprise 5% of the UK's transport fuel from today.
Since 2008, the UK has needed fuel suppliers to add a growing percentage of sustainable products into the petrol 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 carried out for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level implies that UK drivers will have to pay an additional ₤ 460m a year since of the higher cost of fuel at the pump and from filling regularly as biofuels have a lower energy material.
The report state that if the UK is to satisfy its responsibilities to EU energy targets the cost to drivers is most likely to increase to ₤ 1.3 bn per annum by 2020.
"It is difficult to find any great news," Rob Bailey, senior research fellow at Chatham House, informed BBC News.
"Biofuels increase costs and they are a really costly method to reduce carbon emissions," he said.
The EU biofuel mandates are likewise having extremely distorting results in the marketplace. Because used cooking oil is regarded as one of the most sustainable types of biodiesel, the cost for it has actually increased rapidly. Rob Bailey states that towards the end of 2012 it was more pricey than refined palm oil.
"It creates a monetary incentive to buy refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into utilized cooking oil and then offer it at revenue,"
"It is insane however the rewards are there."
There are likewise stresses that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in specific is producing more than it fixes. The more fuel of this type that is put into cars the larger the deficit created in the edible oils market. This had actually lead to increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, typically produced on deforested land.
"Once you take into account these indirect effects, biofuels made from vegetable oils in fact result worldwide in more emissions than you would obtain from utilizing diesel in the very first place," said Rob Bailey.
"Plus you are asking motorists to pay more for the fuel - it makes no sense, it is an entirely irrational technique."
Biofuel advantages
The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the market, external across the EU, stated it understood the issues brought on by the required. But it thinks that biofuels have lots of positives.
"Blaming biofuels for all the problems worldwide is a bit too overstated," stated Isabelle Maurizi, project manager at the EBB.
"It has actually brought great deals of benefits. It has enhanced the security of our diesel
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Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'Worse than Nonrenewable Fuel Source'
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