Log in | Subscribe | RSS feed

What’s New

UK government to slow down introduction of biofuels

8 July 2008

UK’s Transport Secretary and Environment Secretary set out a new approach to biofuels, including that the introduction of biofuels in the UK should be slowed down to take into account emerging scientific evidence about their sustainability.

Under the new approach, the UK government will:

The new biofuels position is based on the findings of the “Review of the Indirect Effects of Biofuels” authored by Professor Ed Gallagher, the head of the government’s Renewable Fuels Agency.

The key findings of the review are that:

The review has also found that increasing demand for biofuels contributes to rising prices for some commodities, notably for oil seeds, but that the scale of their effects is complex and uncertain to model.

The UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation requires that 2.5% (by volume) of the road transport fuels is made up of biofuels effective April 2008. This level will rise to 3.75% in April 2009, and 5% in April 2010.

The EU’s 2003 Biofuels Directive requires Member States to set biofuel targets for 2010, and suggests that these targets should be in the region of 5.75% (by energy content), equivalent to around 7.5% by volume. The European Commission’s draft proposed Renewable Energy Directive includes a proposed mandatory renewable transport fuel target of 10% (by energy content) by 2020, equivalent to around 13% by volume.

Source: UK DFT | Gallagher review