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Scientist warns biofuels could cause more harm than good
Last updated at 09:37am on 25.03.08A leading scientist has warned that the push for "green" biofuels may be doing more harm to the environment than good.
Professor Robert Watson, the chief environmental advisor, said laws to boost use of biofuels by cars should be postponed until a review of their impact is carried out.
From 1 April, petrol stations must ensure that at least 2.5 per cent of fuel at their pumps is from biofuels - made from crops rather than oil - to bring them into line with an EU directive.
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Biofuels, mainly ethanol and diesel made from plants, have been promoted as an alternative to the use of liquid fuels in transport
He said it would be "totally insane" if it turned out that biofuels, which are designed to cut harmful carbon emissions, actually led to an increase in carbon production.
Biofuels, mainly ethanol and diesel made from plants, have been promoted as an alternative to the use of fuels made from oil in transport, which account for about a quarter of all global greenhouse emissions.
But some scientists think their benefits could be outweighed by negative effects from their production.
Speaking on the BBC Today programme yesterday, Professor Watson said biofuels policy in the UK and the rest of the European Union may have run ahead of the science.
"Many people still believe that some biofuels are indeed still sustainable from an environmental standpoint,' he said.
"I think we need to check that. It would obviously be totally insane if we had a policy to try and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the use of biofuels that's actually leading to an increase in the greenhouse gases from biofuels."
He said the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, which places fines on petrol suppliers who do not provide biofuels on pain of hefty fines, should be delayed. From April all stations will have to provide 2.5 per cent of petrol from renewable sources - rising to 5 per cent by 2010.
"I would suggest that we would indeed wait until the review is completed," he said.
Yesterday a coalition of pressure groups from Oxfam to Greenpeace wrote to the Department of Transport, demanding that the obligation be delayed until after a review.
And the EU's environment commissioner Stavros Dimas admitted yesterday that there were question marks over the 2010 target. He said it should only be met if the biofuels have been sustainably produced.
It is often not possible to say whether biofuels are truly sustainable because their origins are impossible to trace.
However, many scientists say some fuels, such as ethanol from sugar cane, are sustainable.
Others say biofuels may in fact increase the carbon debt caused by ploughing virgin soil, which releases carbon dioxide. This could outweigh the potential carbon saving from biofuels.
Researchers writing recently in the journal Science said the renewable fuel obligation was less effective in cutting carbon emissions than a programme of restoring forests and protecting plant habitats.
They compared the environmental benefits of growing crops on arable land to produce biofuels, or replanting the same land with trees.
Their conclusion was that the quantity of carbon dioxide absorbed by forests over 30 years would be "considerably greater" than the emissions avoided by using biofuels.
There is also concern that global food prices will be pushed up if farmers find it is more profitable to grow biofuels to replace oil to power cars.
Soaring wheat prices have already forced Hovis to put up the price of its standard loaf from 99p to £1.15.
Doug Parr, chief scientific adviser of Greenpeace, said: "From next month British motorists will be forced to pump biofuels into their tanks with no way of knowing if the so-called green fuels they're using are actually worse for the climate than regular fossil fuels.
"For one of the Government's top scientists to describe these plans as potentially insane suggests that something has gone seriously wrong here.
"The targets should be scrapped. Pressing ahead regardless of the consequences for the climate would be incredibly reckless."
Reader views (3)
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Subsidizing Ethanol to encourage its' production and use is bad enough....
but when you take into account the rise in corn prices because the
"bright bulbs" decided to use a food and feed crop instead of cellulose based switch grass, was a total disgrace.
The amount of crop land that is now producing corn has compromised all other food crop production quotas and caused a rise in all consumer edible food prices from baked goods to, beef, pork and chicken, to food supplements such as Flax Seed.
I am sure that the intent was to get the Conservative Vote in traditionally
Blue States by making millionaires out of Farmers, but that does not make the masses happy in NON-farming states.
- Ron, Toronto
Biofuels are utterly pointless, they produce more CO2 than normal fuels and there isn't enough land mass in the world to produce enough food for the world's population, let alone producing enough vegetable matter for the worlds transport infrastructure. Although, I suppose we could deforest the rest of the world and destroy it's remaining ecosystems, at least that way humankind wouldn't have to worry about their fuel consumption as they'd be extinct.
- D Green, London
Oh dear once again so called "green legislation" ends up increasing the environmental damage.
This ongoing mad rush to embrace anything any crank calls green without providing any evidence is going to seriously hurt not just the our pockets and country but the very environment they pretend to protect.
What next? Legislate that we have to pollute the environment with tons of mercury? oh sorry they have already done that. (cfl bulbs)
- Sarah Pantry, London UK
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