Some biofuels are twenty times worse than fossil fuels

A report by the United Nations has highlighted the danger posed to the environment by certain types of biofuel, the worst of which can emit twenty times more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels.

The most environmentally-damaging type of biofuel is a biodiesel from palm oil when grown in tropical peatland forests that have been cleared for the purpose.

The report also found that the best types of biofuel can have a clear environmental benefit; recycling waste products to produce biofuel can prevent the problem of land clearance and generating electricity using wood, straw and other crop or waste material was generally more energy-efficient and offset more emissions than converting biomass to liquid fuels.

However, new biomass-fired power plants planned for Britain are likely to result in a dramatic increase in imports of timber. There is pressure for the plants to use more waste wood rather than virgin timber.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “If we tax the producers of carbon dioxide and other climate change gases, changes will occur faster than if government tries to second guess future technologies and personal taste. Biofuel could be a false dawn, but if we proceed with care we could enjoy numerous dividends – just tax what we know to be bad and the good will flow from the results.”

The impact of deforestation