Biofuels 'Like Pouring Vodka Into Beer'

[nsane.forums]

Biofuels could produce twice the carbon emissions of the fossil fuels they replace, environmentalists have claimed.

Friends of the Earth have said rules introduced a year ago requiring a percentage of UK transport fuels to be "green" could have created an extra 1.3 million tonnes of CO2.

Supporters of biofuels said that in the first year of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), the industry had shown it was possible to produce sustainable fuels in the UK.

But Friends of the Earth claim the RTFO could be producing the equivalent emissions of putting an extra 500,000 cars on the road.

The group's executive director Andy Atkins said: "Trying to cut emissions by adding biofuels to petrol is like trying to cut down on beer by lacing your pints with vodka.

He believes that until ministers can prove that growing crops for fuel actually cuts carbon, the government should stop biofuels being added to UK petrol and diesel.

The Renewable Energy Association is concerned if the Government reduces biofuel use it will not meet the EU target of 10% renewables in transport by 2020.

The REA also criticised the rules brought in on reporting how sustainable biofuels are because they allow companies to say the origins and sustainability of the fuels are "unknown".

A year on from the introduction of the RTFO, the amount of biofuels required in fuels rises from 2.5% to 3.3%, a smaller increase than originally planned following concerns over their effects.

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