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Biofuels policy 'reckless'
22/01/2008 07:22 - (SA)
London - Britain has a "reckless" policy on biofuels and should stop promoting their production because they do more harm than good to the environment, according to a parliamentary report published on Monday.
Parliament's environmental audit committee said production leads to the destruction of forests and requires energy-intensive processing.
"The government and EU has moved too quickly to stimulate the use of biofuels," the report said.
Biofuels come from a range of products such as sugar beet and wheat and produce less harmful emissions when used to power vehicles. Transport accounts for a quarter of Britain's greenhouse gases.
The government has promoted biofuels by cutting duties and forcing fuel suppliers to ensure at least five percent of sales are from renewable sources through the Road Transport Fuel Obligation, which takes effect in April.
The committee, however, concluded current biofuels were unlikely to improve fuel security, that agricultural subsidies for them were unsustainable, and that they would push up food prices.
"Transport biofuels have received disproportionate attention and funding in comparison to other policies which could reduce greenhouse gas emissions at lower environmental risk and lower cost," the report said.
A Transport Department spokesperson said the government would respond to the report in detail.
"We agree that biofuels are not a 'silver bullet' - they are part of a package of measures to reduce the environmental impact of road transport, backed up by record investment in public transport," she said on condition of anonymity in line with her department's policy.
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