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

The UK's "unreasonable" usage of biofuels will cost motorists around ₤ 460 million over the next 12 months, a think tank states.

A report by Chatham House, external states the growing reliance on fuels will also increase food prices.

The author states that biodiesel made from veggie oil was even worse for the climate than fossil fuels.

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

Since 2008, the UK has actually required fuel suppliers to add a growing proportion of sustainable products into the petrol and diesel they provide. These biofuels are mainly 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 additional ₤ 460m a year due to the fact that of the higher cost of fuel at the pump and from filling up more frequently as biofuels have a lower energy material.

The report state that if the UK is to satisfy its commitments to EU energy targets the expense to drivers is most likely to increase to ₤ 1.3 bn per year by 2020.

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

"Biofuels increase expenses and they are a very costly method to reduce carbon emissions," he stated.

The EU biofuel mandates are also having hugely distorting results in the market. Because used cooking oil is considered one of the most sustainable kinds of biodiesel, the rate for it has actually increased rapidly. Rob Bailey states that towards completion of 2012 it was more pricey than refined palm oil.

"It produces a financial incentive to purchase refined palm oil, cook a chip in it to turn it into utilized cooking oil and then sell it at profit,"

"It is crazy but the rewards are there."

There are also worries that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in particular is developing more environment issues than it fixes. The more fuel of this type that is taken into automobiles 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 take into account these indirect effects, biofuels made from veggie oils really result worldwide in more emissions than you would receive from utilizing diesel in the first location," stated Rob Bailey.

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

Biofuel benefits

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the market, external throughout the EU, said it understood the problems triggered by the mandate. But it thinks that biofuels have numerous positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the troubles worldwide is a bit too exaggerated," stated Isabelle Maurizi, task manager at the EBB.

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