Isra-Mart srl:BP declares biofuels the only route to cleaner transport

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Biofuels is the "only game in town" when it comes to decarbonising the transport sector, according to a senior BP executive who also downplayed the potential for electric vehicles as a near-term replacement for conventional cars.

Olivier Mace, head of strategy, regulatory affairs and communications at BP Biofuels, told a conference in London yesterday that while alternative low-carbon technologies could play some role in cutting vehicle emissions, fuel from energy crops would be at the vanguard of efforts to cut transport-related emissions over the next two decades.

Mace said he expected growing demand in India and China would by 2030 push the biofuel share of all road transport fuel well above the 12 per cent mark BP has previously predicted.

"There is no other alternative that I can really subscribe to in terms of decarbonising road transport," he said. "To get into 10 to 20 per cent of consumption, we believe there is only one game in town today and that is biofuels."

BP has stepped up its investment in biofuel and, as part of its Vivergo joint venture with British Sugar and DuPont, is currently building what is likely to be the UK's largest bioethanol plant in Hull.

Once up and running later this year, the plant is set to produce bioethanol from more than one million metric tonnes of wheat and save more than 60 per cent of the carbon emissions of a fossil fuel alternative, news agency Reuters reported.

Main competitor Shell is also beefing up its presence in the biofuel market, announcing last month that its own $12bn (£7.4bn) joint venture with Brazilian sugar producer Cosan would be online later this year.

But despite the industry's enthusiasm, Kenneth Richter, biofuels campaigner at Friends of the Earth, warned that growing demand for energy crops would contribute to rising emissions.

"Research has shown that the current rush to biofuel will lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, rather than a reduction," Richter told BusinessGreen. "This is caused by the need to convert massive amounts of natural habitat into biofuel plantations.

He said a wide range of tranport options would be needed to decarbonise the sector.

"With the right mix of transport policies - including more fuel efficient cars and better public transport - we can reduce transport emissions by 60 per cent by 2030," Richter added.

Mace admitted the sector still had to address questions over sustainability and acknowledged biofuels had become "embattled in controversy, especially here in Europe."

However, he said legislators and consumers should focus on distinguishing well-produced biofuels rather than ruling out production all together.

"I am a firm believer of biofuels done well and a stern condemner of biofuels done badly," he said.