Biofuels
The use of renewable sources of energy, including biofuels produced from crops,
has increased as governments have sought to reduce consumption of, and
dependence on, other sources of fuel, such as oil, coal and gas.
This trend is driven partly by concern over the impact of traditional fossil
fuels on the environment, and partly by the rising cost of these sources of energy
as a result of political instability in some regions of the world and rising
demand from developing economies in large countries such as India and China.
The UK Government has recently revised obligation levels and has set a target
that 3.25% of all our petrol and diesel consumption should be from biofuels by
2009/10, rising to 5% in 2013/14. The European Union, meanwhile, has agreed a 20%
mandatory target for renewable energies by 2020, including a target that 10% of
energy in all transport should come from renewable sources including biofuels by
2020.
FDF supports the role that renewable energy from agricultural sources can play
in tackling climate change and addressing fuel security. However, FDF members are
concerned that policies encouraging use of biofuels are having an adverse impact
on supplies and prices of food. This is because increasing numbers of farmers
are selling their produce into the energy market instead of the food market,
resulting in raw material shortages for food manufacturers and subsequent price
inflation for consumers.
FDF would therefore encourage the UK Government to ensure that the target for
biofuels is introduced in a way that is cost efficient and sustainable, ensuring
that there is no conflict between food and fuel supplies and that supplies of
agricultural raw materials for food are not impacted by meeting the target
Last reviewed: 18 May 2009