Union goes all out to put case for biofuels
BIOFUELS ARE preferable to their fossil-fuel equivalents under all circumstances, and there is no excuse not to pursue them.
That is the opening gambit in the NFU”s pre-election push to persuade politicians of the merits of non-food crops and agriculture”s potential to combat climate change.
A two-page summary of a detailed 33-page analysis of the case for liquid biofuels is being sent to all NFU branches and offices to help members lobby candidates.
It is being distributed as the EU Commission prepares to take action against member states dragging their heels in meeting the EU”s target of 5.75% of all road fuel derived from renewable sources by 2010.
Of the 19 countries that have set targets, the UK”s is the lowest, the NFU”s non-food uses adviser Matt Ware told farmers weekly ahead of the council meeting. “The EU target is 2% by the end of this year. The UK”s, of 0.3% by December, is a long way off that, and the NFU believes it is more likely to be only 0.2% anyway.”
Under “infringement notices” from the commission, the government will need to offer a detailed explanation for its tardiness, he added.
“Climate change has become a top priority for governments worldwide,” said NFU deputy president Peter Kendall.
The UK, as president of the G8 leading industrial countries and the EU in 2005, is leading the discussion. But carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase here, up 1.5% in 2004 after a 2.2% rise in 2003.
“CO2 emissions have risen by 3% since 1997,” said Mr Kendall. “There is now a real risk that the UK will miss its 2010 Kyoto targets.”
Embracing biofuels with more enthusiasm would do much to help counter that, Mr Kendall added.
And he said the 20p/litre duty cut for biofuels, though welcome, was not enough to help meet those targets nor kick-start the UK biofuel industry. In Germany, where green fuel use is growing fast, users enjoy tax-free biodiesel.
“Without such generous Treasury support in the UK, we need to implement a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation to let biofuels take off,” Mr Ware said.
