What are Bio Fuels?

Added On: 30/11/1999

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What are biofuels and how does their future look?

Biofuels are fuels that have been made using plants and biological derivatives such as rapeseed, sugar, starch, sunflower oil and many more. Biofuels can reduce engine wear in your car and their emissions are cleaner than standard fuels due to better engine efficiency and cleaner fumes.

Biofuels are a source of controversy at the moment and have been partially blamed for rapidly rising food prices, as the fuel harvests command a better price for farmers than traditional food crops.

Countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand have halted rice exports in an attempt to control rice prices in their countries, and more may follow.

The UK government has been a strong advocate of biofuels (with new regulations ensuring up to 2.5% biofuel is added to all petroleum fuel on sale), but they have temporarily halted any further EU programs while the problem of rising food prices is reviewed.

So is biofuel actually a good choice for you as a consumer? Well things aren't looking good, there is evidence to indicate that the cost of clearing land and managing the new crops create as much CO2 as regular petrol, and if the rising food costs are proven to be connected to the increase in biofuel crops then it's future may be in the balance...

However, Brazil has managed to hit a good balance between sugarcane and food crop farming, so it is possible to do it in a green way, but Europe and the USA have a long way to go...

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