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The Benefits of Biofuels

Biofuels have a number of benefits over traditional fuels made from oil:

Climate Change
Both biofuels and traditional fossil fuels offer a way of using the energy that has been stored up from the sun. In the case of oil, this process took place many millions of years ago. When diesel and petrol are burnt to produce energy, carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse gases', which would otherwise have stayed underground, escape into the atmosphere. It is these gases that cause global warming or climate change. In the UK road transport produces around a quarter of all our greenhouse gases and this is increasing.

The UK, Europe and governments worldwide now believe that climate change is a real problem which must be addressed urgently. We must reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we are producing, and there are a variety of ways we can do this in our everyday lives such as recycling, driving less, switching off appliances and using energy-saving lightbulbs. The introduction of biofuels in the UK is just one of these ways.

Biofuels are made from crops. As the crops grow, they absorb carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere. So the carbon dioxide that escapes when biofuels
are burnt is subsequently absorbed by new plants growing to produce more
biofuels - it's a 'virtuous' circle.

UK Biofuels can produce significant savings in greenhouse gas emissions of 50%
or more compared to conventional fuels (Central Science Laboratory 2005).
Having said that there are some biofuels that produce virtually no savings at all.
The extent of greenhouse gas saving depends upon the way the crop is grown
and processed into biofuel. The UK government is committed to biofuels that make
a difference to the environment and has set up an independent body -
The Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) - that will be responsible for ensuring that this
happens. Otherwise there would be little point in introducing biofuels to the UK.

Equally it would be crazy if the production of biofuels caused damage to rain forests or to other areas of land inhabited by animals or humans. In cases where this has happened - whether for food, fuel or for any other reason - the UK biofuels industry believes that it is completely unacceptable.

The UK biofuels industry and the UK government are committed to 'sustainable' biofuels production. In fact the biofuels industry is at the cutting edge of sustainability standards. Together with governments in the UK and Europe, it is developing ways to ensure that our biofuels come from sustainable crops - by developing sustainability criteria which fuel companies will have to adhere to. This will cover deforestation, air, water and soil quality as well as social effects like the treatment of workers and respect for the rights of local people. It is likely other products made from crops such as food and cosmetics will have to abide by similar standards in the future, and biofuels will have led the way!