Date published: 2006/09/19
The BBC says:
British policies on bioenergy from plants and other natural materials lack ambition and clarity, MPs have said.
The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Efracom) says the UK is lagging behind other countries.
It urges the government to look beyond its existing 5% target for biofuels in road transport, and promote bioenergy for heating homes and aviation.
However, it says that wide adoption of currently available biofuels could have serious consequences for wildlife.
...
Biofuels made from crops such as wheat and rape are currently the most viable alternative to conventional petrol and diesel for road transport.Like other bioenergy crops, their adoption would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when they burn, but absorb it as they grow.
But land for growing them could quickly become scarce, Efracom concludes. Moving beyond the existing 5% target for road transport would, it says, have "serious land use implications".
The diversity of plants and animals would also be threatened.
The committee suggests that if the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, biofuels for transport may not be the best option.
Using the same land to grow plants which would be burned to produce heat or electricity or both could yield better returns, it feels.
...
The report is optimistic too about "second generation" technologies which could take organic waste such as wood chips, chicken litter, or straw and either burn them or convert them into other fuels.It notes with particular interest that kerosene could be produced this way for use in aviation, currently the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Most reports produced by MPs are just hot air and are quickly ignored and forgotten. This one is likely to prove to be no exception. But at least they are willing to point out that bioenergy is not a "free lunch" (well of course no energy source is).
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