Germany ditches biofuel plan

Environmentalists campaigning against biofuels are celebrating today, after the German environment minister Sigmar Gabriel said the government was to scrap controversial plans to develop biofuels as they were not suitable for millions of vehicles.

Speaking to the television channel ARD, Gabriel reportedly said the government was to drop its E10 project, which is designed to ensure that 10 per cent of petrol used by cars and light trucks in Germany consisted of biofuels over growing concerns that it will cause damage engines.

Tests had shown that the new fuel was more corrosive than traditional petrol and was likely to wear out engine parts far quicker, particularly in cars that were more than 15 years old. It was also feared that many drivers would be forced to buy more expensive Super-Plus petrol to avoid the risk of engine damage.

Gabriel had previously said that the project would be dropped if over one million cars could not use the new fuel and according to recent figures from automotive industry group VDIK around 3.3m vehicles would be affected by the change.

The minister admitted the government had "underestimated the problems" and said it was now scrapping the rules on the grounds that it did not want environmental policy to be held responsible for people having to pay more for fuel.

The decision represents another body blow to the global biofuel industry, which has been widely criticised by environmentalists for failing to deliver expected carbon savings and inadvertently contributing to deforestation and soil erosion.

It will also raise questions about the viability of European wide plans designed to ensure 10 per cent of transport fuel comes from biofuel by 2020.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, Kenneth Richter, biofuels campaigner at Friends of the Earth, welcomed the decision but said that it had been made for the wrong reasons, arguing that environmental concerns should have prompted the u-turn.

He added that the UK government should now follow Germany's lead and put to a halt to its own Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which comes into effect from later this month and requires five per cent of fuel to come from renewable sources by 2010. "The targets should be put on hold, at least until the government gets the results of the review it is running into the environmental effects of biofuels," he said.