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EU targets hit UK energy strategy EU biofuel push 'to ruin forests'
(about 3 hours later)
Britain's energy plans have been thrown into disarray by ambitious European Union targets, the BBC has learned. Oil firms have warned that European Union plans on biofuels could wreck the world's rainforests.
Ministers had intended to aim to produce 20% of Britain's electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Some oil representatives have told the government that they cannot meet the UK target of 5% biofuel on the forecourt by 2010 while also protecting wildlife.
But EU targets state 20% of all energy - including fuel for home heating domestic aviation and cars, as well as electricity, must come from renewables. The EU recently announced plans to double the biofuel total by 2020.
BBC environment correspondent Roger Harrabin says a forthcoming white paper will cover over the policy gaps. One government official told the BBC: "The policy is running ahead of the science; we have to be very careful that this doesn't all go badly wrong."
The recently-published EU strategy will mean the UK will need to produce four times more renewable energy than had been intended. The biofuel bonanza is being promoted by the car industry as a way of achieving cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Exact share Biodiesel comes from plant oils, and ethanol from fermenting starchy or sugary plants.
The government will flesh out more detailed ideas when the legislation is proposed in the autumn, our correspondent says. Experts agree it makes sense to maximise wood waste and to grow energy crops on land that is marginally productive for food.
The UK's exact share of the EU's energy obligation is still being debated. class="" href="/1/hi/sci/tech/5369284.stm">Clean energy or grim reaper? class="" href="/1/hi/sci/tech/6294133.stm">Quick guide: Biofuels The problem is the scale of the enterprise. Many biologists warn there is simply not enough land on the planet to feed a growing number of people who are hungry for more protein, but also want to run cars on fuel from plants.
Meanwhile, the UK is facing further obstacles in meeting EU targets on cutting carbon emissions. Already President Bush's highly-subsidised drive to get fuel from the Prairies has triggered food riots in Mexico because it has pushed up the price of corn.
The government is planning to obtain 5% of road fuels from plant sources by 2010. The biofuels issue is particularly acute in Indonesia where the natural forests are being razed to make way for palm plantations to produce vegetable oil, soaps, shampoos, industrial substances - and now motor vehicle fuel too.
Car firms have been pushing biofuel as a green alternative to petrol but a consortium of green groups have warned it could lead to "massive degradation" of rainforests. The oil giants have promised they would obtain their palm oil from sustainable sources; but they define this as taking oil from plantations where forests were felled more than five years ago.
It is also understood that some oil industry representatives have told the government they cannot hit their targets on biofuel without causing "unacceptable destruction" to wildlife. Some oil industry experts are now admitting that this makes no sense, because it simply increases overall demand for palm oil.
Energy chaos
The UK's overall energy plans have been thrown into disarray by the recent EU heads of government decision on energy supplies.
EU plans effectively quadruple the target for renewable energy The forthcoming UK energy white paper plans to cut greenhouse gases by many means, including producing 20% of electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2020.
But the EU's recently published strategy is far more prescriptive. It demands that 20% of all energy should come from renewables - that covers not just electricity, but also fuel for cars, domestic aviation, home heating and industry.
As electricity accounts for about a quarter of total energy, this means the EU figure works out as four times more renewable energy than the government had in mind.
The UK's exact share of the EU obligation is still being negotiated; but meanwhile officials are scrabbling to find policies to fit.
I understand that when the white paper is published it will paper over the policy gaps. The government will flesh out more detailed ideas when legislation is proposed in the autumn.