MPs group publishes final report on prospects for British bioethanol

Tue 16 July 2019 View all news

The All Party Parliamentary Group on British Bioethanol has published its final report, saying that the UK will likely soon lose the £1bn bioethanol industry unless E10 (10% mix of ethanol in petrol) is introduced swiftly - and by 2020 at the latest.
 
The APPG's report is based on submissions to the Inquiry by stakeholders of the British Bioethanol industry. Twelve stakeholders from the UK, France and Belgium - including the LowCVP's Managing Director Andy Eastlake - were witnesses to the inquiry during two oral evidence sessions held in Parliament in May.
 
The report says:
  • The UK economy will likely soon lose a 'vital and valuable' £1 billion bioethanol industry without the swift introduction of E10 - by 2020 at the latest.
  • Introducing E10 would assist the UK in achieving its GHG reduction targets – saving the equivalent emissions of taking 700,000 cars off the road – while also being delivered at a low carbon cost relative to other options.
  • If the British Bioethanol Industry is lost, the UK will likely become dependent on increasingly scarce and less sustainable biofuel from abroad including Used Cooking Oil (UCO) from China.
  • If the British Bioethanol Industry is lost, British farmers will need to purchase an increasing volume of animal feed from less sustainable sources, in particular soya-based feed from regions in South America, further exacerbating the issue of deforestation. British farmers will also lose an important domestic market for surplus feed wheat.
The Group called on the Department for Transport to publish its Consultation on E10 without delay and urges the Secretary of State for Transport to host an 'emergency summit' on the future of the British Bioethanol Industry before or during the summer recess, bringing together stakeholders to discuss the best course of action to mandate the introduction of E10.
 
The LowCVP published a report - 'Successfully deploying E10 petrol' - in 2017. (News link.)

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