Government urged to phase out use of crops for biofuels

THE Government is being urged to to phase out the use of crops for biofuels “as soon as practically possible” to help boost food security.

A new report from the Centre for Policy Studies challenges the notion that UK farmers – or Ukrainian farmers in a war zone – should be growing grain to fill petrol tanks at a time of acute global hunger.

For petrol vehicles, up to 10 per cent of fuel at the pump is blended bioethanol, made up primarily of food crops such as corn and wheat.

According to the latest Government statistics around 35,800 hectares were dedicated to growing crops for biofuels in 2020.

The Vivergo Fuels plant near Hull and the Ensus plant at Wilton in Teesside are the UK’s largest producers of bioethanol. The Hull factory, which opened in 2013, takes locally grown animal feed wheat, mills it, brews it and then extracts bioethanol, which is then added to petrol.

The report says phasing out crops “would likely be unpalatable” to bioethanol producers and the Government should work with them to help smooth the transition. It adds: “Ideally they could convert their production processes to use waste feedstocks, either for bioethanol or for newer uses such as sustainable aviation fuel”.

The report also highlights that biofuels still emit carbon dioxide at the tailpipe “like fossil fuels”.

The Government has introduced a “crop cap” which decreases over time, and also double-counts most biofuels sourced from wastes, to encourage their use instead. The UK’s supply of biodiesel is now almost entirely from wastes.

The report’s author Dillon Smith said: “The UK Government has taken steps to shift our biofuels away from crop feedstocks and towards waste, but we urge them to accelerate the process.

“With concerns around food security and inflation, as well as the wider discussion of the sustainability of biomass energy, it is difficult to reconcile the use of crops, and land used to grow them, going to biofuels instead of food.

“Reforming the biofuels mandate and accelerating the move to waste-based fuels will be better for the environment and allow farmers to use their land for other purposes – whether that be food crops or other environmental measures.”

Martin Lines, UK Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said: “This report provides a valuable critique of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation and questions its suitability in reducing transport emissions without delivering unintended consequences at home and abroad. What's clear throughout is the need for reform to ensure that agricultural land is used well to secure genuine climate benefits, build long term food security and deliver biodiversity gain.”