Are biofuels good or bad?

In its simplest terms there are good ways of making biofuels and there are bad ways. That is why the question “are biofuels good or bad?” cannot be answered simply. A better question would be “is biodiesel made from waste cooking oil via esterification a net contributor to human induced climate change?” or “does biodiesel made from jatropha oil reduce food harvests?”

Our understanding of the life cycle effects of different production paths is developing rapidly and it is possible to identify the most sustainable pathways. With the right guidance there is no reason why the industry can’t develop sustainably. The UK is leading the World in attempting to shape the rapidly emerging biofuels industry through the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) which sets not only minimum blending levels but also sustainability and greenhouse gas requirements for biofuels entering the UK market.

To ensure a truly sustainably biofuels industry greenhouse gas and sustainability assurance schemes that cover international markets are needed. At present this isn’t possible as there hasn’t been time to develop a global consensus on what the assurance schemes would cover and how they would be operated and monitored. To this end there is still a great deal of work to be done but the UK has started along the road and the RTFO is being watched carefully around the globe.

The environmental performance of the RTFO is being monitored by the Renewable Fuels Agency who regularly publish data to allow consumers to see how successfully producers are meeting the challenges of the assurance schemes. For more information on the RTFO and the progress being made towards sustainable biofuels please visit www.dft.gov.uk/rfa/