Are biofuels the answer in search for cheap, plentiful, green energy? MPs say No

Published on Sunday 20 January 2008 21:02

BIOFUELS could actually be doing do more harm than good to the planet, according to an all-party group of MPs who have called on the government to halt moves to promote them.

The MPs accused ministers of pushing biofuels as a "green" alternative without first ensuring that their manufacture would not destroy rainforests, cause food shortages in poor countries and pollute vital waterways in the developing world.

The House of Commons' environmental audit committee said an immediate moratorium should be imposed on this "expensive and inefficient" climate-change policy to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, in favour of more sustainable alternatives.

The MPs' conclusions caused an immediate political row, with the Tories and Friends of the Earth backing the call to put biofuels on hold, but the Liberal Democrats and the Royal Society saying they supported them as long as tough sustainability provisions were in place.

Biofuels are derived from plant materials and can be made from a range of products, including sugar beet and wheat. They reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions when used to power cars and other road vehicles.

Transport accounts for a quarter of the UK's greenhouse gases and the government has introduced moves to boost biofuels.

These include cutting duty and forcing suppliers to meet a target of at least 5 per cent of sales from renewable sources through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, which comes into force in April.

The committee backs the complaints of critics that this approach ignores scientists' warnings that some methods of producing biofuels mean that their overall impact can be worse than using "dirty" fossil fuels such as oil and coal.

The MPs say that the energy used in growing, harvesting, transporting and processing the crops can produce more greenhouse gases than petrol and diesel-fuelled cars.

They warn that in order to produce biofuels, firms can destroy "carbon sinks", which absorb naturally, such as rainforests and peatlands, destroy valuable natural habitats as food production is displaced; and result in the increased use of pesticides and fertilisers, which can pollute vital water-courses in the developing world.

The MPs reject government claims that biofuels replacing oil and gas from the Middle East and Russia would improve fuel security.

They also attack a proposed European Union renewables directive – due to be published on Wednesday – which will set out targets for the use of biofuels.

EU officials have already agreed to revise the targets in light of scientific evidence.

However, Professor Dianna Bowles, of the Royal Society, said: "Biofuels could play an immediate and important role in cutting our spiral of emissions from transport.

"It's key that the ones we use provide the best greenhouse-gas savings and are produced in ways that are good for people and the environment."

A Department of Transport spokesman said: "Experts generally agree that the majority of biofuels deliver greenhouse-gas savings, and policies are based on the best available scientific evidence."