Biofuels were heralded as a greener solution to growing energy needs, however they have recently come under fire for being environmentally unfriendly and contributing to a world food crisis.
On the 15th April, the UK government brought into effect the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The RTFO stated that 2.5 per cent of fuel sold in the UK must consist of biofuel, due to rise to five per cent by 2010. The government initiative is in line with the European Union’s goal of 10 per cent biofuel content for all transport fuel by 2020.
Biofuel, loosely defined as fuel produced from recently dead organic matter or biomas, has become a dynamic and ever growing industry. With the use and production of biofuel having increased significantly in the last decade, it has been heralded as a greener solution that will help meet fuel demands. Europe and the United States subsidise biofuel production both to curb emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning gasoline and to address energy security by using alternatives to hydrocarbons. It is said that the increased use of so-called bioenergy could help diversify agricultural and forestry activities, improve food security, contribute to sustainable development and mitigate climate change by replacing fossil fuels that produce global warming greenhouse gases.
There has been significant support from government and industry and many advocates see it as a viable means of cutting carbon emissions. While tailpipe emissions from burning biofuels are about the same as those from fossil fuels, carbon savings are made because the crops for biofuels are replanted, absorbing the same amount of CO2 out of the atmosphere as burning them puts in, thereby making it carbon neutral.
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