NFU brands biofuels study as ‘unhelpful’

Feb 25 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal

A NEW study into the environmental and economic impact of biofuels which was announced by the Government last week has been branded ‘unhelpful’ by the National Farmers Union.

The study comes amid rising concern that biofuels could be competing with food production, damaging the environment and even increasing carbon emissions – the very thing they aim to combat.

A spokeswoman for the North East NFU said: “We are confident any review will show biofuels grown in the UK under farm assurance protocols are sustainable and can play an important role in reducing CO2 emissions from transport fuels.

“This announcement can only be unhelpful in deterring investment in developing the technology.

“There is a risk that, by standing on the sidelines, the UK will miss the opportunity to give the rest of the world a lead in developing biofuel technology.

“Biofuels targets in the UK can be met by using raw materials that are currently surplus to domestic requirements and which would otherwise be exported.”

The research, which will be led by the Renewable Fuels Agency, will include an examination of the ‘indirect’ or knock-on effects of producing the fuels, which are made from organic materials such as wheat, sugarcane and palm oil. Recent research published in Science found that in some cases converting land to biofuel production caused many times more emissions than the savings the fuels delivered. And in January a report from the Royal Society warned there was a risk that biofuels could fail to deliver hoped-for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and could damage the environment.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said biofuels had the potential to reduce the impact of transport on the environment, but only if they were sustainable.

She insisted the Government would not go beyond its current biofuels targets until it was sure they could be met sustainably.

The UK’s Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), which comes into force in April, requires 5% of fuels for vehicles to come from renewable sources by 2010, with bioethanol and biodiesel being blended into conventional petrol and diesel respectively to cut their carbon footprint.

Ms Kelly said the results of the review would inform policy for the EU, which is currently advocating a target of 10% of transport fuels from biofuels by 2020, despite growing fears of the wider consequences the move could have.

“Future biofuels targets must take into account the latest scientific evidence about the environmental effects of biofuel production,” she said. “There has been much recent debate around the risks associated with overly rapid expansion of biofuel production, with evidence now emerging on the indirect, or ‘displacement’ impacts, of growing demand for agricultural production around the world.”