Archived press release

Renewable Energy Association report on biofuels - a costly and ineffective way of tackling climate change

22 October 2009

Commenting on a report launched today by the Renewable Energy Association which shows that despite there being potential for producing more biofuel in Britain vast amounts will still need to be imported from abroad, Friends of the Earth's biofuels campaigner Kenneth Richter said:

"The biofuel industry has finally admitted that if the UK is to meet its high targets for biofuels virtually all biodiesel for use in diesel cars will have to be imported from overseas.

"But clearing land to grow crops like soy and oil palm for this fuel is already having a devastating impact on the world's forests and causing carbon emissions.

"Increasing bioethanol production here in Britain for use in our petrol is expensive - the main reason only eight per cent of biofuels were produced here last year - and the intensification of agriculture needed would come with serious environmental consequences.

"Biofuels are ineffective at tackling climate change. The Government should be investing in the solutions we know will cut carbon emissions, like smarter cars that use less fuel and incentives to get people walking, cycling, and using public transport."

Notes to the editor:

1. A summary of the "Peer Review of the Renewable Energy Association's scenario modelling for biofuel feedstocks to 2020" is available at http://www.biofuelsnow.co.uk/resources.php

2. This week the United Nation Environment Program published an in-depth study "Towards sustainable production and use of resources: Assessing Biofuels" which concluded that:
• "Increased biofuel production is expected to have large impacts on biological diversity in the coming decades, mostly as a result of habitat loss, increased invasive species and nutrient pollution."
• "Clearing the natural vegetation mobilises the stocked carbon and may lead to a carbon debt, which could render the overall GHG mitigation effect of biofuels questionable for the following decades."
• "there is a potential risk for competition between food and fuel, and consequences on food prices as a result."

3. A report by the ICTSD Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade Policies and Sustainable Energy, "EU Support for Biofuels and Bioenergy, Environmental Sustainability Criteria, and Trade Policy" estimates the cost of EU biofuel policy at £10 billion.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust