Compulsory targets for including biofuels in road fuel should be abandoned as they are inefficient at cutting greenhouse gas emissions and can lead to environmental damage, says a new report from the cross party Environmental Audit Committee.

The report concludes that "biofuels are generally an expensive and ineffective way to cut greenhouse gas emissions when compared to other policies.

"Emissions from road transport can be cut cost-effectively, and with lower environmental risk, by implementing a range of other policies," it says.

The EAC wants a moratorium on biofuel targets.

It argues that, instead, the government should concentrate on the use of sustainable biofuels, such as waste vegetable oil, and the development of more efficient, second generation biofuel technologies.

It also wants robust sustainability criteria to be developed and applied to all biofuels.

"The government must ensure that its biofuels policy balances greenhouse gas emission cuts with wider environmental impacts, so that biofuels are only used where they contribute to sustainable emissions reductions," said EAC chairman and Conservative MP Tim Yeo.

"Without this reassessment, biofuels could lead to a range of environmental impacts including water pollution and biodiversity loss."

RSPB

"Our calculations reveal that, if only 10% of demand from UK biofuels policy comes from sources such as palm oil, this would be likely to destroy more than 17,000ha of rainforest and release up to 17m tonnes of carbon dioxide," said RSPB head of sustainable development Martin Harper.

"This will obliterate the alleged carbon savings from UK biofuels policy for years to come."

But the NFU has dismissed the report as "illogical and badly informed".

"Biofuels represent the only renewable alternative for replacing fossil fuels in transport and a way of tackling the one quarter of UK carbon emissions which transport is responsible for," said NFU president Peter Kendall.

"UK Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 53% and UK wheat bioethanol by 64% compared with their fossil fuel equivalents.

"Of course, biofuel crops must be produced sustainably, both at home and abroad.

"Currently the UK is helping lead the way, with the Department for Transport earlier this month detailing the strong standards which will need to be reached under UK legislation."