UK to start carbon and sustainability reporting on biofuels

UK fuel suppliers are preparing to start reporting on the carbon and sustainability impact of biofuels they sell as part of the government’s effort to promote renewable transport fuels.

The process starts on April 15 2008 and operators are due to submit their first monthly reports by June 16. The system, known as the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and included as part of the Energy Act 2004, has been set up to ensure that at least 5% of the UK’s transport fuel comes from renewable sources by 2010 while at the same time guarding against detrimental effects on the environment and society.

The UK Department for Transport last year set up the Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) to administer the RTFO. The agency aims to encourage the use of sustainable biofuels by requiring operators to report on both the net greenhouse-gas saving and the sustainability of the biofuels they supply. These reports will cover the direct impacts arising from biofuel cultivation that are potentially within the influence of companies sourcing or producing biofuels, through effective supply-chain management.

The reports are necessary for companies to receive Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFCs) proving how much biofuel they have supplied.

The RFA will separately monitor the potential indirect impacts of biofuel production such as indirect land-use change or changes to food and other commodity prices, mechanisms that are beyond the control of individual suppliers.

Legislators, however, may bolster the RTFO to make sure it produces the highest greenhouse-gas savings possible from biofuels. The government has so far only proposed GHG saving and sustainability targets that suppliers should aim to meet. For GHG savings, they start at 40% a year in 2008-2009, rising to 50% in 2009-2010 and to 60% in the following two years.

In fact, the parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee last month recommended the RTFCs be granted on a highly differentiated carbon-saving basis to encourage the development and use of technologies that bring the biggest GHG savings. The committee’s concern was echoed by the Royal Society, the UK’s independent scientific academy. It said biofuels may not provide significant emission reductions and may even be environmentally damaging unless the government imposes specific GHG saving targets.

The RFA, meanwhile, is putting the finishing touches to its Carbon Calculator, due for release in late March or early April.

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