London, July 15,
2010 - The UK Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA)
today released provisional data compiled during the second
year of the nation's the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO)
that suggests biofuels use has exceeded the government's
target.
Almost 1.6 billion litres of biofuels has been reported,
accounting for 3.33% of the total of the UK's road transport fuel.
This exceeds the Government's target of 3.25%.
This has resulted in significant carbon savings of 51% compared
to gasoline and diesel, making an important contribution to
reducing climate change inducing emissions in the transport
sector.
The savings are roughly equivalent to taking half a million
vehicles off the road, or making Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast car
free.
The carbon figures reflect the directly measurable savings
biofuels offer but do not take into account the potential impact
from indirect land use change. The European Commission is due to
report by the end of this year on how such changes should be
addressed for meeting renewable fuel targets.
Against this success story the UK's renewable fuels regulator
has signaled disappointment at some big oil companies failing to
take significant steps towards sourcing biofuels sustainably.
Nick Goodall, the Agency's CEO, said: "The volume target has
been met which is welcome news. But this is about sustainable
carbon reduction. The leading suppliers have demonstrated that it
is possible to secure sustainable biofuels in volume. Others have
fallen well short."
The Agency maps performance against three sustainability
targets: data collection, greenhouse gas savings and performance
against sustainability standards.
Mandatory carbon and sustainability performance requirements
will be introduced with the implementation of the European Union's
Renewable Energy Directive.
You can access the complete data
here., as was
presented by Nick Goodall at this year's annual Low
Carbon Vehicle Partnership conference.