More cars to run on greener fuels
Five per cent of all fuel sold at petrol stations will have to come from a renewable energy source by 2010, the government announced today.
Transport secretary Alistair Darling said that the move – known as the renewable transport fuels obligation – would help Britain in the fight against “the threat of climate change”.
“Taking action to tackle climate change is essential,” he told a conference to discuss the promotion of greener vehicles.
“The renewable transport fuels obligation I am proposing today is predicted to save around one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 – the equivalent of taking one million cars off the road,” he said.
And Mr Darling made clear his determination to steadily increase carbon savings in order to reduce the impact of transport on climate change, and bring environmental benefits to all.
He added: “I am determined that transport should play its part in addressing the threat of climate change. Making vehicles more efficient and investing in public transport are important aspects of our strategy, but renewable fuels are equally important.
“This obligation is vital in continuing to promote a shift towards cleaner, low carbon road transport.”
Most biofuels are derived from oilseed rape and wheat, which are then mixed with petrol and diesel and run in ordinary cars.
But the transport secretary also outlined plans to introduce more advanced biofuels that would make use of waste and possibly even hydrogen fuel, and said that in the longer term the government hoped to expand the range of biofuels available.
He added: “A lot of work is being done in this field, for example, the hydrogen highway in California.
“As a next step, we need to have a hard look here in the UK at the practical steps we would need to take to build a hydrogen infrastructure.”
This new pronouncement on climate change comes as the House of Lords debate the issue later today.
The Royal Society has warned that if Britain does not do more to cut emissions it risks losing its international authority on the issue.
Recent figures from Defra suggest that Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions have risen over the past two years, and the Royal Society says that if this continues the UK will miss its Kyoto target of cutting emissions by 12.5 per cent on 1990 levels by 2012.
President Lord May warned: “What we need is courage from our political leaders both within and outside government, to take the actions necessary to reduce our emissions.”
