Chief scientist warns against rushing into biofuels
Tuesday, 25 Mar 2008 15:38
Some biofuels could do more harm than good to the environment, chief scientific advisor warns
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The government's chief scientific advisor has warned against rushing into policies promoting the use of biofuels.
Professor Robert Watson said the government should wait until the completion of a new review into biofuel sustainability before implementing new measures.
He warned that while some sources of biofuels are potentially sustainable, "others are certainly not".
"It would obviously be totally insane if we have a policy to try and reduce green house gas omissions through the use of biofuels that is actually leading to an increase in the greenhouse gasses from biofuels," Professor Watson told the Today programme.
He said a comprehensive understanding of the environmental and social consequences of biofuel use is needed and called for legally binding standards on biofuels if they are promoted.
Shadow environment secretary Peter Ainsworth said he welcomed the scientist's comments and called for the government to postpone the start of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) while a review of the impact of biofuels is carried out.
"The government needs a sustainable biofuels policy; their RTFO has no environmental safeguards and it's hard to believe that the government hasn't bothered to investigate the biofuels it is importing and that it is equally ignorant of the domestic production required to meet its own targets," he added.
"Ministers need to get a grip and ensure that only biofuels from sustainable sources are sold on British forecourts.
"Otherwise the government's policies on biofuels risks becoming a self-defeating cause of climate change rather than a solution."
A coalition of environmental and development organisations have also raised concerns with the RTFO, saying the UK's biofuel policy risks doing more harm than good.
The coalition includes the groups Greenpeace, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Oxfam and Friends of the Earth.
Abi Bunker, agriculture policy officer of the RSPB, said: "Biofuels threaten untold damage to unique wildlife habitats across the world.
"Their production is already causing the destruction of rainforest, peatlands and grasslands and the release of huge amounts of carbon stored by trees and soil.
"Thousands of people this month urged the government to shelve its plans to force us to buy more biofuel. Ministers must heed those pleas not bulldoze through the use of more biofuel."
